The Down Community Health Committee has launched a petition calling for the re-opening of the 24/7 Downe Hospital A&E
On Friday 16th May 2025, the Down Community Health Committee (DCHC) launched a petition calling for the immediate re-opening of the 24/7 Accident and Emergency Department at the Downe Hospital in Downpatrick.
The Downe A&E had closed in September 2010 just a short time after the new hospital was built. The East Down and South Down areas had relied on the services of the Downe A&E for decades, but now a Minor Injuries Unit and Out Of Hours Service operate in place of the A&E service and many local people are very concerned about the absence of the full services of an Emergency Department.
At the launch meeting in the St Patrick Centre in Downpatrick, local residents, business people and political parties gathered in support of the demand for the re-opening of the A&E in Downpatrick.
The long, burning issue went up a gear last November when when the South Eastern HSC Service Chief Executive Roisin Coulter reported to Newry Mourne and Down District Council that a re-opening of the A&E was not going to happen for safety reasons and also that the Health Minister was in the process of re-configuring the health service.
However, the DCHC have been monitoring the situation and are clearly unhappy about A&E health cover in the area. Consequently, after several meetings in early 2025, they considered a petition to galvanise public opinion into action.
The petition has now emerged challenging the South Eastern HSC Trust’s position and calling on the Health Minister Mike Nesbitt MLA to consider the circumstances around the Downe Hospital in his re-configuration health system revamp.
Eamonn McGrady, Chairman of the DCHC, opened the meeting up and welcomed everyone, and said: “We are all united behind the campaign to restore the 24/7 A&E at the Downe Hospital.
“We are not going over the old arguments over access and care which have been well discussed.
“We need to see the Downe Hospital as an Enhanced Local Hospital. The late Senator Maurice Hayes was a strong advocate for this model of hospital for Downpatrick which would cover the East Down area from through Kilkleel, Newcastle, Castlewellan, areas which have received a poorer ambulance response rate.
“We always hear of stories of delays from the coastal areas where the ambulance response times are bad. This has been going on for years and is unacceptable.
“We need more beds at the Downe Hospital, and medical staff, and ambulances too. But we do need an effective framework for delivery of our health services.
“There appears to be a rural urban divide going on and I don’t take kindly to being told that everything is ok when it isn’t.
“It is time to change this unacceptable position once and for all.
“So it is important for people present here to share their views and let the reality of this unfair system to be made public.
Photos: Jim Masson/DownNews©).
“Amazingly, in 2024, 36.4% of people using the Ulster Hospital A&E were from outside the South eastern HSC Trust area. And 29.9% of those attending the Lagan Valley A&E were from outside the Trust area. This is a key and critical issue.
“And again cardiac care is something which needs to be looked at. A significant number of people in our catchment area may fall outside the Golden Hour for treatment for cardiac and stroke treatment.
“There is something fundamentally wrong with the health model when you can’t safety avail of a 24/7 A&E in our area despite the health service bureaucrats saying that it is safe. The testimomy below is only a fraction of the health crisis we are facing”.
Mr McGrady called on a number of those present to speak for a minute about their experiences and sign the petition.
Speakers In Chronological Order:
Aidan Harris, DCDC member: “There is generally a shortage of ambulance cover in our area and the road infrastructure is quite poor. I am involved with the GAA and I know that waiting on an ambulance for an injured player can take up to 4 hours to get to the Ulster Hospital. The Downe A&E should cover the wider East Down and part of the South Down area. The Downe A&E would be well located and would take the pressure of the Ulster Hospital.”
Patricia Watterson, Local Resident: “Every family in Downpatrick and beyond in this area must have a story. I was very unwell. I went up to the Downe Hospital without an appointment and had to go back out into the rain and ring the Out Of Hours and wait for a call so I could get into the OOH unit. I was treated about an hour later.
“I’ve had had clots in the brain and hemorrhaging, and thought I needed urgent attention. I live alone and this happened it the middle of the night. It was frightening. There just seems to be no humanity in the health service. How was I supposed to get to the Ulster Hospital ? “
Tom Gibney, local Downpatrick businessman: “I’ve been in business for over 50 years in Downpatrick. I had a health issue once and went to the new Downe Hospital. I had a pain in my chest. I ended up going home as I did not ‘have an appointment’.
“This is just not fair to the workforce in this area who depend on a proper health system and A&E care.”
“The Health officials need to get their act together.”
Marian Ritchie, retired nurse: “I have seen a lot of changes taking place and many are just not good. People think they can turn up at the Downe Hospital for treatment when ill or injured but they now have to make an appointment. The old days are gone.
‘Waiting times are worse for ambulances, and we have seen beds moved from the Downe to elsewhere. Therefore, I urge everyone in the Downe Hospital catchment area to support this campaign and sign the petition.”
Louise Digney, local resident: “In all honesty, the Trust needs to re-open the Down A&E. I spoke to nurses recently and they said that you never see jobs advertised in the Downe Hospital for nurses – many travel from Downpatrick to work in the Belfast Hospitals.
“How can the Ulster Hospital process all the sick and injured people in this area ? The waiting room in their A&E is often jammed.”
Dr Tim Campbell, St Patrick Centre Director: “We have hundreds of coach loads of visitors who come to the centre each year. The health issue affects everyone including the tourists who come here to our area. They walk the St Patrick’s Way and walk through the Mournes.
“If they are injured or take ill, the nearest A&E is 30 miles away in Belfast. The health care system for A&E in the United States where many visitors come from seems more effective. I hope the petition will help to make the much needed changes to the system.”
Baroness Margaret Ritchie of Downpatrick: “I know first hand the importance of having a ‘local accessible A&E at the point of delivery’.
“The predicament regarding the Downe A&E has not changed. An A&E needs consultants and anaesthetists, therefore this service must be enhanced to Local Enhanced Hospital status. But this can only happen with political will.
“We have to lobby the health mandarins to end this.
“The over-crowing and long waits at the Ulster Hospital is unacceptable and when people are lying in trolleys, and the elderly are apprehensive, then something needs to be done. We need to support the restoration of Downe Hospital A&E services which were removed.”
Cathy Mason MLA. (Sinn Féin): “I have heard many personal stories over the years and I know we all have stories to tell. I was in the Ulster Hospital A&E recently and waited 12 hours for attention. People from Kilkeel, Ardglass and other areas have to drive for over an hour to get to the Ulster Hospital A&E. And often they have to drive past the Downe Hospital to get treatment.
“We are just asking for equality, for fair treatment. I think of the plight of the local community, the tourists, the workers.
“We need to work together and get the Downe Hospital A&E re-opened.”
Cllr Conor Galbraith (SDLP): “When I was a child I was knocked down by a car on the Saul Road and I know first had the importance of having a local hospital with a functioning A&E. I went to the old Downe Hospital and I was in good hands back then.
“We all know the well rehearsed arguments. We must stick together on this campaign and we must all sign the petition.”
Cllr Oonagh Hanlon (Sinn Féin): “We all remember the old Downe Hospital and the A&E, but we are all too familiar now with the bureaucratic brick wall we are faced with over trying to restore the Downe A&E.
“I’ve been involved in pressing for the re-opening for 8 years. I understand the needs and aspirations of our community and like many elected reps I feel the frustrations.
“It is a no-brainer… the re-opening of the Downe Hospital would relieve pressure on the Ulster Hospital A&E.”
Seamus McMullan, former health worker and DCDC member: “Many thanks to Eamonn for pulling this meeting together.
“I too had occasion to attend the OOH at the Downe and they would not let me it without an appointment set. I went out to the car then phoned and eventually got in.
“This is a system failure. I would encourage everyone to sign the petition.”
Colin McGrath, South Down MLA (SDLP): “When my mother took ill some time ago, we waited 4 hours for an ambulance. Then we had to wait for treatment in the Belfast ED. At 10.30pm I took her home. I phoned at 9.30am and the results had just came through. She would have been lying on a trolley all night if I had not taken her home. We would then have been seen at 9.30am. This is just unacceptable.
“When you look at the Downe Hospital, you see a new building, but a lot of beds and equipment has been stripped out.
“There needs to be a political response to this and all parties need to work together to address this issue and promote the petition.”
Chris Hazzard MP (South Down): “This issue is about human dignity which the DCHC have demonstrated over the years.
“We are calling for equality of treatment. You get great treatment if you live in Belfast. There is a rural – urban divide here. And you get quicker service.
“We all need to campaign together on this and convince the Minister, the South South Eastern HSC Trust, the Department of Health, nd the Health MInister that there is a significant inequality going on here.
“We need to succeed in this campaign. We don’t want to come back here in another 50 years.
“We need the local community to phone around – to the BBC, radio etc etc and let everyone know this is not about parish pump politics”.
Kate Houston, local resident: “My husband died in the Ulster Hospital 18 months ago. He could not eat the food there and found the food in Downpatrick much better.
“On reflecting on his treatment when he was sill, I feel very strongly about it. I encourage everyone in our area to sign the petition.”
Anne Trainor, DCHC Vice Chair said: “I was introduced to the health campaign for a new hospital in Downpatrick when I was 18 years old when I was much younger. Many of the old campaigners have since passed away, and let us take a moments silence to remember them.”
The meeting paused briefly in remembrance.
Mr McGrady thanked everyone for attending.
***
Note on Petition from Eamonn McGrady, DCHC Chairman.
For those who can facilitate the signing of the petitition in their businesses, communities and organisations, for the restoration of the 24/7 emergency department, please display a petition in an open and visible point on your premises.
If you need copies, contact 028 44 614340.
The petition will be open until 14th June.
For the persons who distribute the petitions, please collect then on the 14th June and return to:
Eamonn P McGrady and Co.,
4-6 Market Lane,
Downpatrick.
or call tel: 028 44 614340.
