YOUR HELP NEEDED: ANOTHER BUDGET, ANOTHER BOOST FOR CRAIGAVON – BUT WHAT ABOUT DAISY HILL?
Today’s another day to do something good for Daisy Hill. Thanks to everyone who took part in the Hospital Network consultation. This time it’s all about the MONEY! £££. The next stage of the plan is to please help Daisy Hill again, through the Department of Health Draft BUDGET 2025-6 Consultation.
By taking part you can make a difference and help stop the cull of more acute hospital services from Daisy Hill Hospital, Newry.
As this Budget is all about CAPITAL spending, by taking part people will also be helping keep with one of the SOS Daisy Hill Hospital Committee’s main strategic objectives (mentioned in the lead up to their 2024 AGM) which is ‘(2) To lobby in the long term for more capital spend on Daisy Hill so it has the architectural build of a 21st century acute hospital.’
We need to ask the Department directly for funding for Stage 1 Redevelopment of Daisy Hill as an acute Area Hospital as well as funding for specialist INPATIENT acute services (especially Emergency, including Surgery and Stroke etc) and more inpatient beds and specialist Clinical staff for Daisy Hill in Newry.
The Southern Trust won’t ask for capital investment for Daisy Hill – but we all can ask the Department and the Minister directly through the Budget Consultation for Daisy Hill’s share. It only takes 5 minutes and some suggested answers are here for you with this post. (See below)
The closing date is very soon as replies have to be in by NEXT Wednesday 09 April. Sorry for the short notice – as we only heard about this recently.
HOW AND WHY?
From Day 1 when they took over in 2007, the Southern Trust put the need to redevelop Craigavon Hospital first, in front of Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry. Their Business Plans from 2007 onwards show this. (See Refs). This is despite the fact they were both hospitals of equal Acute status. Now it’s 2025, another Budget and despite ££££millions already spent on Craigavon, they want to spend MORE.
For those who think this is because Craigavon has a bigger population – it doesn’t – Newry & Mourne locality has ALWAYS had the highest population of the 5 localities (lgds) in the Southern Trust.
So, when will it be Daisy Hill Acute Hospital’s turn for some proper funding for redevelopment?
THE BUDGET PROPOSALS – CAPITAL SPENDING
>>The DOH Draft Budget 2025-26 proposes funding for extra hospital beds capacity for Craigavon Hospital, as a ‘critical’ capital scheme, but the ‘critical’ Budget proposal for Newry is not for extra bed capacity or future redevelopment of Daisy Hill Hospital or funding for specialist acute services – but instead to build a new Community Treatment Centre (Health Centre) in Newry, (P15/17 Equality doc).
>>This new community treatment centre is to be built (costing approx £88.3million) with the purpose of stripping acute hospital services from Daisy Hill Acute Hospital. 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.”
(*Southern Trust Delivery Plan 2018/19).
The Southern Trust is again completely focused on asking DOH for funding to enhance Craigavon Hospital but not for funding for beds or Consultant – led inpatient acute SERVICES in Daisy Hill acute Hospital in Newry, in another unfair allocation of resources. This is being done without a proper assessment of the needs of the 3rd largest council in NI: Newry Mourne and Down population of c182,634 (NISRA Sept 2024).
BUT YOU CAN HELP! Health Minister Mr Mike Nesbitt MLA wants to know if we agree with this Dept of Health Draft Budget Consultation 2025-26 and replies will be taken into consideration. They say: ‘All responses will be considered as part of the Department of Health funding decisions.’
Please join in and write and ask for a fair share for Newry’s Daisy Hill. We will not get another chance to do this.
Since the Southern Trust decided not to include Daisy Hill Hospital in their rebuilding plans we must let the DOH know the budget injustices in the Southern Trust.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS AVAILABLE HERE
Suggested Answers to the three Questions asked in the DOH NI Consultation: Equality Impact and Rural Needs Impact Assessment of the 2025-26 Draft Budget are available with this post and (if you want) you can copy and paste the answers into your own email to Email: draftbudget25-26response@health-ni.gov.uk (By NEXT Wednesday 9th April 2025)
Please share to help spread the word to everyone you know. Thank you.
Suggested answers here and on the facebook page.
TO DOWNLOAD THE SHORTER ANSWERS
>For people with access to Microsoft word a Word document (Shorter suggested answers) to attach to your email is available to Download below.
Or if you cant download the file – please see below:
Shorter Answers to the three Questions asked in the Consultation on the Department of Health Draft Budget 2025-26 Equality Impact Assessment.
Q4. a. Are there any adverse impacts in relation to any of the Section 75 equality groups that have not been identified in section 5 of the EQIA Consultation document? If so, what are they?
Yes there are harmful impacts that have not been identified. The ‘critical spend’ to build a new ‘Newry Community Treatment Centre’ will allow the removal of more ‘acute services’ which are being stripped and transferred from Newry’s Acute Hospital at Daisy Hill. As the Southern Trust Delivery Plan 2018/19, p97 states: *“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.”
All Equality groups in the large population of Newry & Mourne will be denied timely access to acute hospital inpatient services they need (previously provided in Daisy Hill Hospital). This will mean they will be further disadvantaged as they will unacceptably have to travel all the way to Craigavon to access vital hospital inpatient acute services (including in an emergency). This will cost them extra money, and make it more difficult for them to access a necessary public service, for which funding had been allocated for them.
b. Please state what action you think could be taken to reduce or eliminate any adverse impacts in allocation of the Department’s draft budget?
Action 1: Redirect the proposed funding for (1) ‘Newry Community Treatment Centre’ (c£88.3 million) and (2) ‘additional bed capacity at Craigavon’ and use it instead for extra inpatient acute beds in Daisy Hill Hospital and to provide the first stage of a new major specialist acute Area Hospital building in Newry City. This new hospital should be secured for the long term future in Newry as an Area Acute Hospital with 24/7 Level 1 ED, ICU and permanent major diagnostic equipment including MRI, CT and non obstetric ultrasound scanning equipment, (essential for retention of specialist clinical staff).
C: Are there any other comments you would like to make in regard to this EQIA or the consultation process generally?
When Health Budgets are shared out they are supposed to be allocated fairly but these budget proposals are not based on the needs of all the population in the Southern Trust. Newry & District has the second highest number of Patients of the 17 GP Registers in NI (c161,308) (DOH 2023) after only Derry and the continued failure of the Southern Trust to provide TIMELY access to specialist hospital inpatient healthcare in Daisy Hill Acute Hospital in Newry can be ignored no longer.
Under the Rural Needs Act it is the duty of the Department to ensure that the social and economic needs of the Newry Mourne and Down area is looked after. The economic prosperity of rural areas depends on employment opportunities that having a fully functioning specialist Acute Hospital like Daisy Hill brings. Newry is the gateway to NI and there must be a major acute Area hospital with 24/7 Level 1 ED to provide for road, farm, school, and work accidents etc this must be considered and can’t be ignored.
END OF SHORTER ANSWER SHEET (Answers V2a)
TO DOWNLOAD MORE DETAILED ANSWERS – SEE BELOW
Longer Answer Sheet to Download to your device (Response V1b)
>For people with access to Microsoft word, a Word document (Longer suggested answers) to attach to your email is available to Download below, by clicking on the Download button.
If you can’t download the file – For Suggested Answers Pages- longer and shorter versions please see the links below for the answers in full on the Daisy Hill for Life website:
Suggested Response (Longer version- version 1): https://savedaisyhillhospital.com/2025/04/06/suggested-answers-for-doh-draft-budget-2025-26-equality-assessment-version-1/
Suggested Answers (Shorter version – Version 2: https://savedaiskyhillhospital.com/2025/04/06/suggested-answers-for-doh-draft-budget-2025-26-equality-assessment-version-2-shorter/
Daisy Hill for Life on Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/daisyhillforlife/?locale=en_GB
Links and Background
CONSULTATION LINK
Department of Health NI Consultation: Equality Impact and Rural Needs Impact Assessment of the 2025-26 Budget Outcome – all documents available from the Department of Health’s website and link below:
https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/consultations/consultation-draft-budget-2025-26
The Equality Impact, Rural Assessment and Easy Read Consultation Docs are available below:
See page 15 of the Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) for the Budget Plans in Southern Trust. (The pdf page number is p17)
See page 51 of EQIA for the Consultation info and Questions. (The pdf page number is p53)
Background:
Population – NISRA :
Population info on Daisy Hill for Life website: https://savedaisyhillhospital.com/
https://www.facebook.com/daisyhillforlife/?locale=en_GB
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