Consultants have rejected a £3k a day offer to help save Daisy Hill hospital maternity services from being suspended.
Top level obstetricians across Northern Ireland have been offered the “maximum” payment available by the Southern Trust as well as free bed and breakfast at a local hotel.
A suggested longer weekend shift was also detailed, which would have given a payment of just under £8k.
A Southern Trust spokesperson said: “We continue to work with colleagues across the health and social care system to explore every available option to maintain safe and sustainable obstetric services at Daisy Hill hospital.”
The staffing details have been revealed in a letter seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service from trust chiefs casting the net out to all obstetrician consultants in NI seeking a “bridging measure” potentially for “six months”.
The pay to attract consultants to Daisy Hill was expected to be £128 per hour generating £3,072 for an identified 24hr shift pattern.
Example shifts of 24hrs from Thursday to Friday and a higher commitment of a 62-hour weekend shift Friday to Monday were provided by the trust.
As a result of no apparent uptake on the extra pay, no babies are expected to be delivered at Daisy Hill for some time following a temporary closure announcement this week by the trust.
The trust letter has alluded to 1,713 babies being born in Daisy Hill last year with 2,768 born in Craigavon Area hospital.
The health authority also confirmed the operational move to Craigavon has come about as it has not been able to recruit consultant obstetricians to fill vacancies at Daisy Hill hospital.
The Southern Trust letter further identifies how Daisy Hill’s available consultant staff numbers in maternity have plummeted with the current levels at just “three substantive consultants”.
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