Daisy Hill is being viewed by those in power as a “peripheral” hospital and Newry a “peripheral city.
That’s the view of SDLP MLA Justin McNulty who, despite that, has spoken of his optimism after a series of meetings with senior officials in Dublin, in a bid to safeguard the future of Daisy Hill Hospital.
Alongside Chair of the Newry, Mourne & Down Enterprise Agency, Dr Conor Patterson and Newry City Councillor Michael Savage, Mr McNulty brought the fight for Daisy Hill’s future to the Shared Island Unit and senior officials in the Irish Department of Health.
Speaking afterwards, SDLP MLA Justin McNulty said: “I was pleased to have the opportunity to advance our vision for Daisy Hill’s future with key decision makers in Dublin.
“The overwhelming majority of people that I represent know that Daisy Hill is viewed as a peripheral hospital, and Newry is viewed as a peripheral city. We’re here to challenge that view.
“There are some very practical steps that can be taken to help future-proof Daisy Hill. Chief amongst those is the delivery of a long-promised MRI scanner for our hospital.
“The Department of Health in the North have said that Daisy Hill doesn’t have the necessary power capacity to support an MRI machine and that to upgrade the infrastructure would require an investment of £10m.
“The birds on the trees know that the Department of Health have the resources to make this investment, but instead of complaining on the side-lines, we are taking our case to the Shared Island Unit, who have an enormous budget for cross-border projects.
“Our arguments were well made and well received and our fight for the future of Daisy Hill is gathering momentum. I will be working to build consensus on this issue locally, and I will be keeping the pressure on nationally.
“We are determined to pursue sensible solutions to safeguard the future of our hospital and we will not relent until we get there. Newry’s City Hospital at Daisy Hill Hospital must be enhanced for the generations to come and should serve its natural hinterland of the border regions of counties Armagh, Down, Louth Cavan, and Monaghan.”
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