Daisy Hill Hospital: Minister confirms elective centre plan

Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry is to become an 'Elective Overnight Stay Centre' for patients requiring 'non-urgent' and planned surgery.

The centres, announced earlier this year, are being established as part of the reorganisation of general surgery services.

The Mater Hospital in Belfast was announced as the first of these new facilities in June. Daisy Hill Hospital has now been designated as the second.

Elective surgery involves planned operations and treatments. Elective Overnight Stay Centres will treat patients who are intermediate complexity cases and need overnight care. They will focus on general surgery, but will include other specialties.

Health Minister Robins Swann said: “I am very pleased to be able to deliver this very good news for Daisy Hill Hospital.

“In addition to providing its existing wide range of services already, it will now become a vibrant Elective Overnight Stay Centre providing planned care not just for its local population but also for the region. Surgeons and patients alike will travel to Daisy Hill from different parts of Northern Ireland.

“The development of Elective Overnight Stay Centres is a key proposal in the Review of General Surgery which I published in June. Daisy Hill Hospital will not be the last of these facilities. I can confirm that the Department and Western Health and Social Care Trust are working on proposals for a similar centre at South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen.

“Today’s announcement on Daisy Hill underlines my commitment to making the best use of our hospital network and ensuring all our hospitals have a sustainable and vitally important place in that network.”

In a statement the Department of Health said the aim was to enhance the quality and consistency of care, improve productivity and help bring down waiting lists.

As part of this reconfiguration, Regional Day Procedure Centres have been established at Lagan Valley Hospital in Lisburn and Omagh Hospital.

The Minister detailed today’s decision on Daisy Hill Hospital in a speech to the Northern Ireland Confederation for Health and Social Care (NICON) annual conference and in a Written Assembly statement.

Mwanwhile, The Southern Health and Social Care Trust has welcomed the announcement.

Trust Chief Executive, Dr Maria O’Kane said: “Daisy Hill is an essential part of the Southern Trust hospital network, along with Craigavon Area, South Tyrone and Lurgan, serving our entire population from South Down to Mid Ulster.

“We are very proud of the high quality of services provided by our very dedicated staff at Daisy Hill. In addition to the wide range of specialties already provided from the hospital, we now look forward to enhancing its elective surgical capacity.

“This is an exciting opportunity to develop an essential regional service benefiting the growing numbers of patients on local and regional waiting lists.

“I would like to pay tribute to all of our staff who have been working tirelessly to sustain services during a very difficult few years. This announcement is a very welcome boost to Daisy Hill and the entire Southern Trust as we carefully rebuild more services and recover from the pandemic.

“I also acknowledge the support of our Community Forum, who have worked with Trust colleagues as part of the Daisy Hill Pathfinder Group, to secure and improve services in the interests of local people.

“Our surgical team will now be engaging with colleagues regionally to develop these plans, to achieve the best possible outcomes for patients living across the Southern area and beyond.”