The Southern Trust has now officially withdrawn the High Dependency Unit at Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry and seriously ill patients needing Level 2 High Dependency Care are now sent to Craigavon Hospital instead.
WHAT IS HIGH DEPENDENCY CARE AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?
It was a Ministerial decision by Mr Edwin Poots MLA to open a new 10 bed High Dependency Unit in Daisy Hill Acute Hospital, Newry in 2012, because of the number of seriously ill patients (volumes) needing timely access to Critical Care that only a HDU or Intensive Care Unit (ICU) can provide. (Ref 1).
Daisy Hill’s High Dependency Unit was situated on Level 3 as can be seen from the accompanying picture taken in 2014.
Speaking in 2014 about the Daisy Hill High Dependency Unit (HDU) Dr Shane Moan Consultant Respiratory Physician at DHH stated in Southern Trust promotional material,: “It’s a Ten bedded unit with 2 isolation rooms, It’s spacious, airy, it’s for the delivery of care to Level 2 patients, those are patients who are seriously and critically ill, who require close monitoring, high level of nursing and medical care. Patients are able to receive high quality care and we will recognise deteriorations earlier, hopefully avert the need for patients to be transferred to the intensive care unit. Or if the patient does need to be transferred to the intensive care unit, we will be more advanced in plans for transfer at an earlier stage, so then it’s safer.”
>‘STRENGTHENING THE HIGH DEPENDENCY UNIT (HDU) AT DAISY HILL HOSPITAL’ WAS A KEY OBJECTIVE FOR DEPT. OF HEALTH DHH PATHFINDER PROJECT
The Southern Trust decision to withdraw this Regional Service (High Dependency) goes against the Department of Health’s own 2021 Project Objective for Daisy Hill Hospital to have its HDU strengthened.
The Department of Health wrote: ‘OBJECTIVE: ‘TO IMPROVE UNSCHEDULED AND ACUTE MEDICAL SERVICES ON THE DAISY HILL HOSPITAL SITE BY STRENGTHENING THE HIGH DEPENDENCY UNIT’.
Quote from the Department of Health, Health and Well Being 2026 -Delivering Together Progress Report 2021: Development of The Daisy Hill Pathfinder, p106) (Ref 2).
It is also stated in DOH Health and Wellbeing 2026 Delivering Together Progress Report 2021 that under the Regional project ‘Development of The Daisy Hill Pathfinder’ the Department were prepared to invest nearly £6 million pounds to develop Daisy Hill Hospital services, especially it’s High Dependency Unit. (Ref 2).
DAISY HILL HIGH DEPENDENCY UNIT NOW REMOVED BY SOUTHERN TRUST
In complete contrast to the DOH decision above, the Southern Trust website, the News page on 31 July 2025 shows that the Southern Trust has now removed the HDU from Daisy Hill. This change was based on recommendations from their own Southern Trust ‘DHH Expert Panel’ report. Page 1 of this Expert Panel report stated:
“1.The Provision Of A Unit With A Remit To Provide Level 2/High Dependency Care… on The Daisy Hill Hospital Site CANNOT BE JUSTIFIED ON THE BASIS OF HISTORIC OR CURRENT WORKLOAD” (Ref 3)
However looking at the evidence from Department of Health officially recorded high case volumes in Daisy Hill Acute Hospital’s High Dependency Unit from 2014 -2020, Both historic and modern Regional Critical Care statistics CONFIRM THAT DAISY HILL ACUTE HOSPITAL IN NEWRY HAD THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF INPATIENTS needing High Dependency Critical Care services in all of NI each year since April 2014 to end March 2020. (Ref 4)
These Regional Critical Care Stats show 18,709 patients over six years received life saving critical care in Daisy Hill HDU. That is an average of 3,118 seriously ill patients being cared for in Daisy Hill specialist Acute Hospital HDU Yearly. (Ref 4)
The Royal Victoria Hospital was second highest with a 14,775 total inpatients in HDU for the same six years (2014 to end March 2020), or a yearly average of 2,463 seriously ill patients needing High Dependency care.
More recent DoH figures for the year 2019/20 show that 3,642 critically ill patients in need of timely access to Critical Care Services were admitted to the High Dependency Unit in Daisy Hill Acute Hospital in Newry. (Ref 4)
That equates to an average of 70 EXTREMELY ILL PATIENTS A WEEK who needed HDU Critical Care services in Daisy Hill in 2019/20.
EVIDENCE > DAISY HILL HOSPITAL’S HIGH DEPENDENCY UNIT HAD THE HIGHEST PATIENT VOLUMES OF ALL HDUs in NI FROM 2014 -2020
Evidence and statistics from Department of Health Regional Critical Care statistics (above) contradicts the ‘DHH Expert Panel’ report’s statement on page1: “1.the provision of a unit with a remit to provide level 2 /high dependency care… On the daisy hill hospital site cannot be justified on the basis of historic or current workload”
>According to Department of Health Regional Critical Care statistics Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry in fact had the HIGHEST NUMBER/volumes of patients’ in HDUs IN ALL of NI for 6 CONSECUTIVE YEARS.
CONCLUSION – DAISY HILL HDU MUST BE RE-INSTATED
The Dept of Health is in control of Regional services based on the entire population, and Regional services have to be FAIRLY AND EQUITABLY provided across NI. The Southern Trust should not have withdrawn this vitally important life saving Regional service, High Dependency Unit from Newry’s Daisy Hill Acute Hospital without Regional public consultation.
All Trusts must follow the DoH objectives, statistics and do things properly, follow the chain of command and follow correct procedures when dealing with Regional public services and dealing with public money.
It is vitally important; that reasons given for removing Critical Care and other Regional Services from Daisy Hill Acute Hospital, Newry must be informed by accurate volumes of inpatients taken from DOH Hospital Inpatient Statistics and Population Needs Assessment. All specialist and Regional services are planned, managed and delivered on a REGIONAL basis through the Department of Health so there must be Regional Public Consultation before any permanent changes are made to any Regional Service including HDU Critical Care services in Daisy Hill Hospital.
The Dept. of Health DHH Pathfinder Project invested time and money ‘to improve unscheduled and acute medical services on the DHH site by Strengthening the High Dependency Unit’ – so it is not in the Southern Trust remit to undo this good work.
In summary – justification for the need for a High Dependency Unit in Daisy Hill could not be clearer. The reasons include the DOH officially recorded high case volumes in Daisy Hill Acute Hospital’s High Dependency Unit from 2014 -2020 and official backing from the Department of Health as shown in the Delivering Together Progress Report 2021.
Daisy Hill Acute Hospital High Dependency Unit must be reinstated immediately.
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REFERENCES
Ref 1: Link https://www.4ni.co.uk/northern-ireland-news/149485/new-unit-opens-at-daisy-hill-hospital
New Unit Opens At Daisy Hill Hospital 21/08/2012. ‘Health Minister Edwin Poots has officially opened a new High Dependency Unit at Daisy Hill Hospital’.
Ref 2: Delivering Together Progress Report 2021: Development Of The Daisy Hill Pathfinder 2021’, (page 106) (Department of Health for NI):
Ref 3: ‘Daisy Hill Hospital (DHH) Expert Panel – Chair’s Final Report to the Chief Executive (Southern Trust) – 21 February 2024’:
Ref 4: Background Factual Information/Statistics: Source Department of Health (DoH) Last updated: April 2021.
Specialist Services Daisy Hill Hospital Critical Care High Dependency Unit Inpatient Activity Numbers:
April 2014- March 2015: 2,558 inpatients
April 2015- March 2016: 3,066 inpatients
April 2016 – March 2017: 3,046 inpatients
April 2017 – March 2018: 3,165 inpatients
April 2018-March 2019: 3,232 inpatients
April 2019- March 2020: 3,642 inpatients
Critical Care Unit capacity across Northern Ireland is defined in two ways: level two (high dependency [HDU]) and level three (intensive care [ICU]). 2020
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Please also see the related post : ‘Emergency Surgery – the Have and the Have Nots’ : https://savedaisyhillhospital.com/2025/05/24/emergency-surgery-the-haves-and-the-have-nots-n-ireland
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