As 2023 draws to a close, we thought it fitting to remember a very special stand out event from the Daisy Hill Hospital Campaign in 2023 – by returning to the SOS Daisy Hill Hospital Committee Public Rally in Newry on 25 June 2023 to feature some of the speeches spoken from the platform.
Over 10,000 men, women and children came out to support SOS Daisy Hill Hospital Committee by gathering in Marcus Square for speeches and then a people’s march up to Daisy Hill Hospital, applause for the staff and a walk right around the hospital complex to form a “ring of steel” of people.
A number of excellent speakers spoke to the assembled crowd at the Rally in Marcus Square, and audio of three of the speakers is available here – Pls click on the links to listen:
Francis Gallagher Chairperson of SOS Daisy Hill Hospital Committee
Tanya Killen President of NIPSA (Northern Ireland Public Service Association)
Deborah Yapicioz UNISON
Eddy Curtis SOS Daisy Hill HospitalCommittee
As we remember that day and listen to some of the available inspirational speeches, is a reminder of the enthusiasm, strength of feeling and determination that exists in the community and beyond to continue to challenge unfair decisions like the removal of core emergency services and beds and the failure of the Southern Trust and others to properly invest, plan or recruit for Daisy Hill Acute Area Hospital, Newry.
The words and actions of this Public Rally in June encourage us to look forward with positivity and with determination for the future of Daisy Hill Acute Hospital in 2024.
Summed up by Mr Eddy Curtis from SOS Daisy Hill Hospital Committee from the Rally platform that day, here are some extracts from his speech:
“We have to continue battling and fighting and putting our best foot forward – to say the people of Newry & Mourne and South Armagh will not accept anything less than an international quality of health that you deserve.
We are asking all families and their children to lead the parade, because at the end of the day – they are the future of our region and they are the people who are going to need health services.
We are going to walk right round the hospital – to put a ring of steel on it and let them see– it’s ours – you cannot touch it – you have to invest in it.”
Eddy Curtis (SOS Daisy Hill Hospital Committee)
Population info
GP registers in NI : Newry & District has 160,615 patients (2nd highest in NI (after only Derry), including the 2nd highest number of children in NI under 18, with (36,228 ) (Source DOH 2023)
Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to http://www.savedaisyhillhospital.com (Daisy Hill Hospital for Life) and Daisy Hill for Life on Facebook with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Thank-you! We welcome sharing.
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As 2023 draws to a close, we thought it fitting to remember a very special stand out event from the Daisy Hill Hospital Campaign in 2023 – by returning to the SOS Daisy Hill Hospital Committee Public Rally in Newry on 25 June 2023 to feature some of the speeches spoken from the platform.
Over 10,000 men, women and children came out to support SOS Daisy Hill Hospital Committee by gathering in Marcus Square for speeches and then a people’s march up to Daisy Hill Hospital, applause for the staff and a walk right around the hospital complex to form a “ring of steel” of people.
A number of excellent speakers spoke to the assembled crowd at the Rally in Marcus Square, and audio of three of the speakers is available here – Pls click on the links to listen:
Francis Gallagher Chairperson of SOS Daisy Hill Hospital Committee
Tanya Killen President of NIPSA (Northern Ireland Public Service Association)
Deborah Yapicioz UNISON
Eddy Curtis SOS Daisy Hill HospitalCommittee
As we remember that day and listen to some of the available inspirational speeches, is a reminder of the enthusiasm, strength of feeling and determination that exists in the community and beyond to continue to challenge unfair decisions like the removal of core emergency services and beds and the failure of the Southern Trust and others to properly invest, plan or recruit for Daisy Hill Acute Area Hospital, Newry.
The words and actions of this Public Rally in June encourage us to look forward with positivity and with determination for the future of Daisy Hill Acute Hospital in 2024.
Summed up by Mr Eddy Curtis from SOS Daisy Hill Hospital Committee from the Rally platform that day, here are some extracts from his speech:
“We have to continue battling and fighting and putting our best foot forward – to say the people of Newry & Mourne and South Armagh will not accept anything less than an international quality of health that you deserve.
We are asking all families and their children to lead the parade, because at the end of the day – they are the future of our region and they are the people who are going to need health services.
We are going to walk right round the hospital – to put a ring of steel on it and let them see– it’s ours – you cannot touch it – you have to invest in it.”
Eddy Curtis (SOS Daisy Hill Hospital Committee)
Population info
GP registers in NI : Newry & District has 160,615 patients (2nd highest in NI (after only Derry), including the 2nd highest number of children in NI under 18, with (36,228 ) (Source DOH 2023)
Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to http://www.savedaisyhillhospital.com (Daisy Hill Hospital for Life) and Daisy Hill for Life on Facebook with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Thank-you! We welcome sharing.
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The Southern Health and Social Care Trust came down to Newry on Wednesday 22nd March 2023 to dictate to the people that they had decided, to withdraw timely, life-saving emergency general surgery permanently, from Newry City’s Area Acute Hospital Daisy Hill.
Because of this unjust decision there is a Major public health crisis in Newry & Mourne right now, especially with this new threat to Daisy Hill of permanent removal of Emergency Surgery so that Daisy Hill can be made an Elective Care Centre, as confirmed at the public meeting on 22 March 2023
Dr O’Kane, the Southern Trust’s Chief Executive confirmed at this meeting that ‘plans to turn the hospital into an elective overnight stay centre were progressing.’ Note how they have removed the name Hospital.
The Daisy Hill Future Group Chairman Dr Conor Patterson also stated that plans were imminent to pass over the Monaghan Row Council Offices over to the Southern Trust. He also spoke of Southern Trust intentions to transfer acute services from Daisy Hill into a Community Treatment Centre in Newry. (This will be a privately built building which will be rented by the Southern Trust for 27 years, so not HSC owned).
TIME FOR ACTION – EMERGENCY COUNCIL MEETING AND MARCH NEEDED
Now it is time again, that the people asked Newry Mourne & Down Council for their concentrated support to organise to call for action and proper treatment of Daisy Hill Acute Hospital, the Area Hospital for Newry & Mourne and South Armagh.
In 2014 when the Southern Trust announced they wanted to centralise all Acute Stroke Services from Newry to Craigavon, the former Newry & Mourne Council unanimously supported the people’s campaign against this unfair and unjust decision.
Newry & Mourne Council did an excellent job of organising a large Rally and March in Newry, wrote to the Southern Trust with their objections and ran a successful united Save Our Stroke Services Campaign. This Save Our Stroke services at Daisy Hill, Newry Rally was 8 years ago this weekend on Saturday 28th March 2015.
We need Newry, Mourne and Down Council to support the people in a similar way with a united campaign to support Daisy Hill Acute Hospital and the proposed loss of another Specialist Service – this time, Emergency Surgery from the Newry city hospital.
We need Newry Mourne & Down Council’s support and for them to organise another March in Newry on a Saturday as soon as possible.
Daisy Hill for life is calling on all citizens of Newry & Mourne and Down to please contact, talk to, and write to our District Councillors for help today on the Southern trust’s plan to withdraw permanently, timely, life saving emergency general surgery from Newry City’s Area Acute Hospital Daisy Hill.
DAISY HILL HOSPITAL, NEWRY CITY IS NOT BEING TREATED FAIRLY
The Newry Mourne & Down District Council should be aware that this isn’t the first time since 2014 that Daisy Hill was under threat of permanent removal of timely life saving Acute Stroke or Acute Emergency services under the direction of the Southern Trust, especially since the publication of the advice given by:
1. The Bengoa Report 2016 – where they used Stroke Services in the Southern Trust as a Local Case Study and canvassed for Craigavon to be the only hospital to have Acute Stroke services in the Southern Trust.
2. Regional Acute Stroke Services Consultation 2019 : Daisy Hill was in none of the 5 options in the 2019 consultation for Regional Acute Stroke Services and Craigavon was named as one of only three sure to have a hyper acute and acute stroke unit.
3. In March 2020 at a key time for the world, the Southern Trust showed complete indifference on how people of Newry & Mourne and South Armagh were supposed to access Emergency Care. All Acute Services including Emergency Medical and Surgical Services, Respiratory, Direct Assessment, Children’s ED, and Acute Clinical Staff, were removed from Daisy Hill for six months. Again making sure that Craigavon could have two adult and 1 new Children’s Emergency Department.
4. HSC Rebuilding Plans 2020 -2021 : The Southern Trust refused to put Daisy Hill Emergency Department in the Department of Health Rebuilding Plans from March to October 2020 and Daisy Hill was excluded from the NI Critical Care Network.
5. Review of Emergency Surgery Workstreams March 2022: Daisy Hill was used as a Case Study not to have Emergency Surgery in Review of Emergency Surgery Workstreams because the Southern Trust has removed Emergency Surgery from Daisy Hill in February 2022.
6. Review of General Surgery 2022: The Southern Trust decision to permanently remove emergency surgery from Daisy Hill used as evidence in the findings and advice of the Workstreams of the Review of General Surgery (which never went to public consultation to the NI Assembly for approval) and the advice given by Dr Mark Taylor to Minister Swann to decide on which hospitals would have Emergency Surgery services, or decide that Daisy Hill and South West Acute Hospitals should be changed permanently from major specialist acute hospitals into Regional Elective care centres
Daisy Hill in Newry City is the only Acute hospital serving the 2 Constituencies of Newry & Armagh & South Down, with Population of 235,877, including 60,327 under-18s; NISRA 2020
Newry, Mourne and Down is the 3rd highest Local Government District population in NI and its only Acute Area hospital at Daisy Hill, Newry must be prioritised for funding and investment as a Major Specialist acute Hospital not just as an elective centre. The population here have no other timely access to an acute hospital in an emergency.
Now is the time for positive action. Please contact your councillors and ask for an Emergency Council Meeting and a Public Rally/March to be organised to take place on a Saturday in Newry in support of Daisy Hill Acute Hospital, Newry. This must happen before the Councillors break for council elections.
The Consultation on Provision of Emergency Surgery in the Southern Trust closes on Friday 21st April 2023. It is also important that the people of Newry Mourne & Down take part in this consultation. More information on how you can take part in the Southern Trust Emergency Surgery Consultation 2023 will soon be provided here and on Daisy Hill for Life face book page. https://www.facebook.com/daisyhillforlife Thank you.
Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to http://www.savedaisyhillhospital.com (Daisy Hill Hospital for Life) and Daisy Hill for Life on Facebook with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Thank-you! We welcome sharing.
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Daisy Hill Hospital for Life 