Hazzard says to healthcare workers that I will always have your back
South Down Sinn Féin MP Chris Hazzard has said the Downe Hospital’s urgent care closure on St Patrick’s Day this year shows why the Safe Staffing Bill must come before the Assembly without further delay.
In March 2026, the South Eastern Trust confirmed that a shortage of staff left the Downe without an Urgent Care Service on the busiest day in Downpatrick’s calendar.
Following meetings with the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Nursing, the South Down MP said: “Doctors’ and nurses’ representatives gave me a clear message. They want someone to stand up and say ‘we have your back’.
“My message to every healthcare worker in County Down is that Sinn Féin will always have your back.
“People in Downpatrick and beyond saw earlier this year what happens when safe staffing levels aren’t met. On one of the busiest days of the year services at the Downe were reduced, raising serious questions about the rights of rural patients to access healthcare.
“That is what safe staffing legislation is for. It is about effective workforce planning, so access to healthcare is compromised when staff are stretched.
“Our health workers are under immense pressure and it is destroying morale. They need to feel valued, and that means fair pay delivered on time and safe staffing in law.
“The Health Minister should engage urgently with the RCN and trade unions to resolve the current pay dispute, and the 2020 commitment to introduce safe staffing legislation should be brought to the Assembly without further delay.
“This is fundamentally about safe care for patients, and a health service that is there when you need it, whether that’s in Downpatrick, Strangford, Portaferry, or anywhere else in County Down.
“Sinn Féin will always have your back, and we will keep working until safe staffing is law and our health workers are paid fairly.”
