Down Community Health Committee representatives have met with local Ulster Unionist Party representatives.
A spokesperson for the Down Community Health Committee (DCHC) said a three person delegation from the DCHC was delighted to meet with representatives of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), including Councillors Alan Lewis and David Taylor and Newry Moune and Down District Council Vice Chairperson Cllr Harold McKee on Friday morning in the Saint Patrick Centre.
The meeting with the highly influential team of local Ulster UUP representatives was described by the Health Committee afterwards as “extremely useful”.
The talks covered a wide range of healthcare related issues including:
- the plight of rural citizens across the country in seeking to access health services,
- the importance of securing an urgent reopening of the Emergency Department at the Downe Hospital,
- the future development of the Downe Hospital and the proposed changes to regional stroke services.
- and there was also a discussion about the future of provision at Daisy Hill hospital.
The DCHC spokesperson said: “ It was very clear that the politicians continue to be highly committed to the restoration of all pre-Covid services and the future development of provision at both the Downe and Daisy Hill sites.
“The crucial future role of local hospitals, now widely recognised in England and Wales, as a key element in healthcare provision, was discussed at length.
“The politicians and campaigners are firmly resolved to continuing to work together positively and constructively with anyone seeking to develop improved local services”, he concluded.
UUP Working Hard Behind The Scenes
Newry Mourne and Down District Council UUP council leader Cllr David Taylor said: “It was a very productive meeting with the Down Community Health Committee especially regarding the status of the two A&E’s in our area in Downpatrick and Newry.
“We are fully behind the restoration of local services and have been engaging closely with the health trusts concerned and Health Minister Robin Swann, and we hope to see progress on this soon.
“Our party has agreed to meet up with the Down Community Health Committee on a regular basis to discuss health service concerns.
“Both of our hospitals in South Down are servicing a growing population. We believe the status of these hospitals needs to be improved to meet the health needs for the years ahead.”
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