Aontú’s Loughran meets Nesbitt as part of Daisy Hill SOS delegation

Aontú Newry representative Sharon Loughran was part of the delegation.

She said, “I was grateful to have the opportunity to voice my concerns about what is really happening with acute services at Daisy Hill.

"We currently have no emergency surgery and no provision within the Southern Trust to provide theatres or staff.

"I told the Minister that this leaves us in a position that is not safe and asked what model was being used to decide on the closure of services as the Bengoa model has not been shown to be successful and research tells us there is no benefit to Daisyhill in taking away emergency surgery.

“This is quickly becoming a humanitarian issue as the public are facing undue pain and and fear about the future of their local services. The Minister told us he wanted to 'put hope back into healthcare' as well as looking at collaboration between trusts to follow or establish best practice - in my view hope can only be retained in Daisy Hill's future with a clear commitment to acute services that are accessible and properly funded.

"I will continue to work as part of SOS Daisy Hill to bring concerns about our hospital to the fore and demand answers from those making decisions."