Union sounds alarm on ‘interim’ cut in emergency surgery at Daisy Hill Hospital

Unison raised its concerns around the future of services at Daisy Hill Hospital during a meeting with management of the Southern Trust.

The trust announced the decision last month, with chief executive Shane Devlin claiming that Daisy Hill “can shine by becoming one of the most amazing elective hospitals, still having a functioning emergency department dealing with a massive amount of emergency”.

Following the meeting with management, Unison joint branch secretary Catherine Farrell said: “Unison has been campaigning for several years to protect and strengthen the emergency department at Daisy Hill. We stressed that our members need a clear picture of what is going on and what services are impacted.”

Nuala Conlon, the union’s regional organiser, said: “Although the trust has said this is an ‘interim’ decision given the lack of surgeons, Unison made the point that most of the ‘interim’ decisions generally become permanent.

“We were told that road traffic accidents, the delivery of babies and other emergency services would continue.”