Newry, the main Gateway City to NI now, and after we leave the EU, is being denied its rightful place in the Rebuilding of Health and Social Care Services, by the people who are paid to include them.

The graphics which follow show THERE IS NO OTHER Type 1 ED Department in NI that can be accessed within one hour by a third of the population of Newry & Mourne/South Armagh – 38,000 people. 

That is why Newry City’s Acute Hospital, Daisy Hill’s ED department was designated in 2003 with 8 other EDs across NI  to form a Regional network of  9 Type1 EDs , vital to ensure equality of access within one hour 24/7  to Consultant-led urgent and emergency Care to everyone in NI , no matter where they live – urban and rural.

The Southern Trust needs to take its responsibilities to the Newry & Mourne/South Armagh population seriously and be accountable for their actions.   The function of the Southern Trust is to provide hospital accommodation and services in Newry City in Newry & Mourne – the largest administrative area in the Southern Trust.

Their function DOES NOT include the removal of Daisy Hill’s Emergency Department (ED)  from  the long  established Designated Regional network of  the nine  24/7 Type 1 ED Departments of Daisy Hill, Royal Group , Antrim, Ulster, Causeway,  Mater, Altnagelvin, Craigavon,  and  S.W. Acute Hospitals,  which provided a seamless web of ED care to all of the people of NI over the past 17 years.

The Southern Trust shut down Daisy Hill’s Type 1 ED, at a days notice, without consultation, or any adherence to Equality, Rural Needs, Human Rights, Disability legislation. This Type 1 ED in Daisy Hill Hospital is the only one serving the population of the Southern part of NI one hour drive-time ED Network.

GRAPHICS/MAPS

The accompanying Graphics ‘Drive Times to Nearest Type 1 ED’ show the effect the removal of Daisy Hill ED from the existing network of Nine Type1 EDs across NI has on the Population of Newry & Mourne.

The Department of Health/Public Health Agency and Southern Trust are aware of the importance of this Drive Time information as it was previously analysed and published in the Department’s Pathfinder Project Report and Appendices in 2017. The map in the graphic is a scaled drawn reproduction of the report’s map*(See end for source).

GRAPHIC 1: Drive Time shows approx Drive time to a Type 1 ED across the Southern Trust and wider area when Daisy Hill ED is excluded. It shows that people living in Armagh, Craigavon, Lisburn, and all across the greater Belfast Area are all within a 30 minute car drive time of a Type1 ED. This is as well as being only 30 min Drive time to all other Type 1 EDs in acute hospitals in Belfast). It also shows that Newry & Mourne is most badly affected by removal of Daisy Type 1 Hill ED.

GRAPHIC 2: Focus on Newry & Mourne – Drive Time  – focuses in detail at the map showing the area of Newry and Mourne. The Rural areas of the Mournes and South Armagh are most affected without Daisy Hill ED.

Nearly 38,000 people in Newry & Mourne denied right to access a Type 1 ED within 1 hour

Graphic 2 shows the area of Newry & Mourne affected with added reference to Electoral Ward populations. Without DHH ED the population of the following electoral wards have to travel 75 to 90 minutes+ to get to a 24/7 TYPE 1 ED in an emergency situation.

OVER 75 MINUTES DRIVETIME TO GET TO A 24/7 TYPE 1 ED (coloured dark orange on maps): see key

1 : Annalong: 2. Binnion  3 :  Kilkeel Central 4 :  Kilkeel South 5 : Lisnacree 6 : Rostrevor 

60 TO 75 MINUTES+   DRIVE TIME TO GET TO A 24/7 TYPE 1 ED.  (coloured dark yellow on maps): see key:

7:  Spelga  8 : Kilbroney 9 : Seaview  10 : Clonallan 11:  Crossmaglen 12 : Creggan  13 :Silverbridge 14: Forkhill

These times are only estimates. Only those of us who have had to make the journey to the nearest ED know exactly how long the journey takes.

The Southern Trust’s has a centralisation policy of provision of all medical and surgical Urgent and Emergency Services.  Because of this Southern Trust policy – approximately 38,000 people in Newry & Mourne (including South Armagh) since 28^th March 2020, have been potentially denied their right to access immediate life saving care in a Type 1 ED within one hour Drive time from their homes. This includes 8,403 children and 5,914 aged 65+.  (Population data from latest NISRA estimated 2019 stats).

REBUILDING PLANS:

Southern Trust made an agreement with other Health Trusts and the Department of Health NI that they will:

(1) Ensure Equity of Access for the treatment of patients across Northern Ireland  (2) Minimise transmission of Covid-19; and (3) Protect access to the most urgent services for our population.

By shutting down and refusing to reopen Newry City’s Type 1 ED department the Southern Trust  have not ensured “Equity of Access” for the treatment of patients across NI and have denied approx 38,000 men, women and children in Newry and Mourne access to time critical  immediate Urgent and Emergency Car within an hour. 

They have also destroyed the existing 17 years Regional network of 9 Type1 EDs being provided by all the other Trusts.

JUST LIKE NEWRY AND DAISY HILL WAS LEFT OUT OF THE STROKE CONSULTATION OPTIONS

Like with the Stroke consultation (where all Stroke care  was centralised to Craigavon from Newry), the Southern Trust has again wrongly left Daisy Hill out –  this time out of the Regional Plans for Urgent and Emergency  and other services in their Rebuilding Health and Social Care services plans.

STAND YOUR GROUND

It is on record that there has been a hospital in Newry caring for anyone in need of immediate life saving services for the past 175 years, through famine, wars and the Cholera epidemic.

It took the Southern Trust, to remove its caring specialist staff at a days notice, from Newry to Craigavon, when they were needed most in Newry, during the Covid 19 pandemic, leaving the entire population of Newry & Mourne without a lifeline in Newry city to time critical Urgent and Emergency Care.                                          

All Politicians, Unions, community representatives and individuals.  Please stand your ground to get what is rightfully ours because we have paid for it.  

The Department of Health get £5 billion to improve the health and social Care of all of the people of NI who need healthcare no matter where they live. Together we will stand our ground to get Newry, the Gateway City to NI and Newry & Mourne/South Armagh firmly back on the map.

Background:

*Map –  (Source: Appendices – Daisy Hill Hospital Pathfinder Project – Development of an Unscheduled Care Model through a Co-Production Approach, 20th December 2017.  Appendix 2 – Population Needs Assessment – Report of the Needs Assessment Figure 6-2: Drivetime Analysis for NI – DHH ED excluded. Pg 87/88.)

TYPE 1 Emergency Departments are defined as those with a consultant-led service with designated accommodation for the reception of emergency care patients, providing both emergency medicine and emergency surgical services on a round the clock basis.

Daisy Hill Acute Hospital with 24/7 Type 1 ED in Newry is in the Southern Health and Social Care Trust area.

RELEVANT RESEARCH

Extensive research by ‘Developing Better Services’ Report 2003 found that only a total of 9 EDs would ensure the entire population of NI had access WITHIN ONE HOUR to immediate urgent and emergency care no matter where they lived in both urban or rural areas.

Newry & Mourne is the largest locality of the 5 localities in the operational area of the Southern Trust. The five localities in consistent order of population size since the establishment of the Southern Trust in 2007 are: (1) Newry & Mourne (2) Craigavon (3) Armagh (4) Dungannon and (5) Banbridge.

GOVERNMENT CONSTITUENCY INFO

Newry & Mourne Locality is in Two Westminster and NI Assembly constituencies: Newry Armagh and South Down.  17 Wards are in the Newry Armagh Constituency and 13 Wards from Newry & Mourne are in South Down Constituency.

NEWRY & ARMAGH CONSTITUENCY: Daisy Hill, Drumalane, St Marys, St Patrick’s, Windsor Hill, Drumgullion, Ballybot, Newtownhamilton, Camlough, Derrymore, Bessbrook, Tullyhappy, Crossmaglen, Creggan, Silverbridge, Forkhill, Fathom.

SOUTH DOWN CONSTITUENCY:  13 electoral wards of Newry & Mourne are in South Down Constituency.

Spelga, Rostrevor, Sea View, Clonallan, Burren & Kilbroney, Mayobridge, Derryleckagh, Annalong, Binnion, Kilkeel Central, Kilkeel South,  Lisnacree,  and Donaghmore:
49,000 of the Newry & Mourne population are in the South Down Constituency.

Southern Trust Rebuild Phase 2 Plan available here: https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/health/shsct-plan-2.pdf

Links to all Trust Rebuild Plans 2020 here:

 https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/publications/rebuilding-hsc-services

Link to Rural Needs Act:  https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nia/2016/19/pdfs/nia_20160019_en.pdf

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