Sinn Féin MLA Chris Hazzard has welcomed confirmation from the Health Minister that additional funds have been made available to improve ambulance response times across South Down.
Mr Hazzard said: “For some time now I’ve been raising this issue with the Health Minister and his department so I welcome his reply to me this week that extra resources have been secured to improve ambulance response times.
“Response times have been a worrying trend for rural areas in particular, so this £1.8 million investment towards meeting an increasing demand will be welcome news to many people across South Down who are increasingly frustrated at the lack of equality of service.
“The Minister has now given me a commitment that this injection of resources will enable an extra 15,000 emergency response hours for the Northern, South Eastern & Southern Local Commissioning Group areas. This certainly would be a welcome start to addressing the needs of the South Down community.
“In acknowledging the very specific needs of rural areas such as South Down, the Minister must now also ensure equality of access to our local hospitals in Downpatrick and Newry.”
