The Department of Health Budget 2023-24 proposes extra bed capacity & equipment for Craigavon Hospital, as a critical capital scheme, but in complete contrast the Budget proposal for Newry city is to start the construction of a Newry Community Treatment and Care Centre, rather than extra bed capacity or equipment at Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry.

So why is this Community Treatment and Care Centre for Newry expressed as a Dept. Of Health critical capital priority scheme when Daisy Hill Hospital is not?

The Department of Health cannot commit one penny of funding towards Health and Social care in Newry & Mourne or at Daisy Hill Hospital unless the Southern Trust asks for it by putting it into their Business Plans and submitting to the Department of Health.

As the Southern Trust have NOT asked or proposed any proper funding for Daisy Hill Hospital, Newry in this Budget – We the people need to speak up and ask instead through this Public Consultation.

Based on accurate population plans –as Newry & Mourne LGD has always had the Highest population in the Southern Trust, Business Plans should have been submitted for the major construction of a New Specialist Acute Hospital development in Newry city– instead of a Community Treatment Centre. This is the feedback the Department of Health need to hear.

The Department of Health have asked for Public Feedback on their 2023/24 Budget proposals Equality Impact Assessment Document (Ref 1) We must use this opportunity to get straight to the decision makers, as to how our public money is being spent and its impact on our future health and economic survival.

BUDGET PROPOSALS 2023/4 – HOW IT AFFECTS YOU: THE PROPOSED NEWRY COMMUNITY TREATMENT AND CARE CENTRE – EXPLAINED IN THE TRUST’S OWN WORDS

“The Trust is continuing to progress plans for a Health and Care centre in Newry which will support the shift of Acute services primarily from Daisy Hill Hospital to a community facility.”

Quote above from the Southern Trust Delivery Plan 2018/19 on the new Newry Community Treatment Centre. p97

The Southern Trust Delivery Plan 2018-19 (Ref 2) is available to download from the References and Links section at the end of this article.

NEWRY COMMUNITY TREATMENT CENTRE TO BE PRIVATELY FINANCED AND CONTRACTED OUT FOR 25 YEARS

The Community Treatment and Care centre for Newry proposal first appeared as a plan in the ‘Transforming Your Care’ Health Reform in 2013. This Newry Community Treatment Centre would NOT be financed using public capital funds like those in Portadown or Banbridge, but would instead be funded by the private sector.

The Southern Trust described this finance deal as a: ‘novel/untested type of procurement known as Third Party Development (3PD)’

“The Trust would enter into a contract for the design, build, finance and maintenance of a community treatment and care centre for a term of 25 years.“

As verified from another source, the Strategic Investment Board (Ref 4 in Links list) states :

“Two pathfinder hub schemes (Newry and Lisburn) were identified in 2013 to test the Third Party Development (3PD) approach.”

ORIGINAL PLAN FOR A NEWRY COMMUNITY TREATMENT CENTRE BASED ON MISREPRESENTED POPULATION SIZES

The Southern Trust plan for a new Community Treatment and Care Centre in Newry first appeared c.2013 when it was encouraged by the Health Minister in charge of the ‘Transforming Your Care’ Health Reform. (TYC)

This TYC Health Reform was informed by the Southern Locality Population Plan and Tables which misrepresented the population sizes of the 5 Localities (LGDs) in the Southern Trust area.

In these ‘population plans’ the Newry & Mourne LGD was incorrectly represented as the smallest locality in the Southern Trust, instead of correctly showing it as the Locality (LGD) with the highest population in the Southern Trust and the smaller population of Craigavon LGD population size was enhanced by adding it to Banbridge LGD population. (for details on this – See Ref 3 link at very end of article below).

This population size misrepresentation / error has had implications on funding decisions ever since.

Based on accurate population plans –as Newry & Mourne LGD has always had the highest Locality/LGD population in the Southern Trust, business plans should have been submitted for the major construction of a New Specialist Acute Hospital development in Newry – instead of just proposals to build a privately funded Newry Community Treatment Centre.

Daisy Hill acute Hospital in Newry city has no nearby alternative Hospital and has no alternative support Hospital, unlike Craigavon which has 2 non acute support Hospitals, (Lurgan 2 miles away and South Tyrone).

The population of Craigavon are 20 minutes motorway journey from Belfast and from several major acute hospitals in Belfast city and in nearby Ulster Hospital. Newry city needs its designated acute hospital as well as a Community Treatment Centre just like Craigavon in Portadown.

EQUALITY CHECKS FOR THESE BUDGET PROPOSALS – THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE

You can use your democratic right to express your opinions on how the money is spent by taking part in this consultation on the Budget Equality Document.

If you want to give your views on how the Department of Health here proposes to spend your hard earned Public Money on Health Services and where these future services exist, contributing to health, the economy and job prospects both medical and construction and all associated jobs linked to a hospital – this is your chance.

This Department of Health Budget EQIA 2023-24 which proposes extra bed capacity & equipment for Craigavon Hospital, should also have had equivalent funding for a new Specialist Acute Hospital building for Newry city, for its large population to keep in line with Equality and Rural Needs Legislation. This important Budget Consultation is open until Monday 14th August 2023.

Short Suggested Answers to this Consultation (along with reasons) will be presented on Daisy for Life on facebook and on this website very very soon at https://savedaisyhillhospital.com/posts/

Liking and Sharing these posts can help support the campaign. Thank you.

REFERENCES AND LINKS

CONSULTATION LINK

Ref 1: Link to the Department of Health NI Consultation: Equality Impact Assessment of the 2023-24 Budget Outcome:

https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/consultations/equality-impact-assessment-2023-24-budget-outcome

Click to access doh-budget-eqia-cons.pdf

Ref 2: The Southern Trust Delivery Plan 2018-19, See p97 Click on the Download button below:

POPULATION INFO LINK

Ref 3 : For important info on Misrepresented population LGD sizes in the Southern Trust area at :

https://savedaisyhillhospital.com/2023/07/01/playing-with-numbers-playing-with-peoples-lives/

NEWRY COMMUNITY TREATMENT CENTRE TO BE 3PD (THIRD PARTY /PRIVATELY DEVELOPED) LINK

Ref 4: The Strategic Investment Board’s website describes the plan that the Newry Community Treatment Centre would be funded as a third party development: “Two pathfinder hub schemes (Newry and Lisburn) were identified in 2013 to test the Third Party Development (3PD) approach” Read the full article from this link: Strategic Investment Board NI -project -3pd-primary-and-community-care-programme/

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