Downe Urgent Care Closed On St Patrick Day

Down Community Health Committee and South Down MP Chris Hazzard concerned over Downe Urgent Care closure on St Patrick’s Day

A row is brewing over the closure of the Downe Hospital Urgent Care unit on St Patrick’s Day and South Down MP CHris Hazzard has backed the Down Community Health Committee in its call for an ‘investigation’.

The Down Community Health Committee (DCHC) has called on Health Minister, Mike Nesbitt, to instruct his Department officials to investigate the failure of the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust to deliver an Urgent Care service, other than a Minor Injury service , at the Downe Hospital in Downpatrick, on St Patrick’s Day, a day when tens of thousands of visitors stream into the area.

A DCHC spokesperson speaking on behalf of the local community said: “The abject failure to deliver has caused understandable outrage for the people of the area, particularly when full normal service is offered at the Lagan Valley Hospital, so close to Belfast and at Belfast’s Ulster Hospital.

“The Trust has blamed staff illness for their failure to deliver locally but their failure to redeploy staff from their other facilities raises fundamental questions about their contingency planning.

“Coming only weeks after thousands of local people signed a petition for the restoration of a 24/7 emergency department at the Downe, local hospital campaigners are furious.

“The local community across East Down, including not just Newcastle and Downpatrick, but the vast rural area from Strangford to Kilkeel to Ballynahinch, Saintfield and beyond, has long demanded this service but their demands have fallen on deaf ears.

“We call on the South Eastern Trust to humbly apologise for this appalling failure, to explain why staff were not redeployed to Downpatrick from other facilities and to gave a categorical assurance, that there will be no repeat of this situation,” the spokesperson said.

Hazzard raises serious concerns over Downe Hospital service reductions

South Down Sinn Féin MP Chris Hazzard has raised serious concerns with the South Eastern Health Trust this evening following the announcement that services at the Downe Hospital are to be reduced on St Patrick’s Day.

The South Down MP described the move as a failure in contingency planning that undermines the rights of rural patients to access essential healthcare.

Mr Hazard said: “St Patrick’s Day is one of the busiest days of the year for Downpatrick. To see a reduction in services at the Downe Hospital during a public holiday again raises serious questions regarding the rights of rural patients to access healthcare.

“Whilst I understand the challenges of staff illnesses, this situation highlights a lack of robust contingency planning.

“I have raised a number of immediate issues with the Trust leadership that must be addressed including adequate staffing during this high pressure event, a robust holiday strategy to prepare for the influx of visitors and ensuring The Downe is treated as a vital hub and not a service that can be scaled back when pressured arise. 

“Patients and our hard-working health staff deserve a system that is resilient enough to handle challenges without compromising care on such a busy day.

“The Trust needs to take immediate, proactive steps to ensure the Downe remains fully operational for everyone who needs it.”