Debate contribution: Daisy Hill Hospital: Inpatient Maternity Services
Debate contribution by Mr Robbie Butler on .
- MLA
- Mr Robbie Butler
- Party at the time
- Ulster Unionist Party
- Date
- 21 September 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Ministerial Statement
- Heading
- Daisy Hill Hospital: Inpatient Maternity Services
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5742399
Read the official Assembly record
Text
That Dodds sandwich has about six layers. Again, I do not criticise the Member for her questions, because they are all valid. When I have talked to clinicians, I have found that they say different things. The clinicians do not agree on what is best and how things can be configured. However, there was a widespread consultation on the transformation of the network in 2024, which solicited 30,000 responses because it matters to each and every one of us.
I cannot be more unequivocal. Was the Member referring to the statement that I made? If so, I disagree with what she said about the content. The content is absolutely unequivocal. In fact, it talks about some of the difficulties that are being faced in Craigavon. That is why, when the Southern Trust looked at how it might respond to this, it was not off the table for it to consider a move from Craigavon to Daisy Hill, but it found that, because of the space, the births and the consultants —. The Trust is doing this through a risk management process, and I have faith in the process that it is applying. As for when I became aware of the situation and what conversations I had, my first-day brief said that there was a concern, but about two weeks later there was another resignation. That meant that the commitment that I had made, which was to keep it as an absolute priority —. There was a live conversation going on between the strategic planning and performance group (SPPG), my permanent secretary and the senior team at the Southern Trust, and I got regular updates on that. I had to be satisfied every time that they were taking every step that they could to try to find the resource that they need to keep the services at Daisy Hill. I confirmed with them on Friday — I spoke to them over the weekend too; we were communicating just about every day on this — that we are not closing the door. We will work fastidiously and hard to find a workable solution. However, we have to be honest with our pregnant women that, come November, if we have not found the right level of clinical cover to provide a safe service, there may be a need for a temporary arrangement.
I thank the Member for her question. You can see some of the outworkings of it in regard to —. In my introductory remarks, I mentioned what we have done about our midwifery allocation at Daisy Hill and how we prioritise recruitment in that space. However, we are working in the context of significant pressures. We have the women's health action plan, which will hopefully come out before the end of the year. I will work really hard to get that out, because it is all connected. I have become acutely aware of how we access healthcare. It is u-shaped; you get a lot of it at birth and a lot of it in your elder years. That is where we need to put that priority. Maternity services right across the network deserve to see the implementation of the Renfrew review, and we are working at pace on that. I cannot give a date, because obviously there are budgetary pressures. We run into these examples now and again that are about budget, but this is not about budget; it is about contracts and trying to ensure that we have the right people working in the right place. There are moving parts, but the commitment is absolutely there.
I thank the Member for that question. I do not know whether anyone is off sick today, but the standard for safe clinical care is eight obstetricians. That is based on the number of births and the capacity that they have to operate. The tipping point evidently came when there were two resignations and the number went down to six. We have to factor in that three of the consultants who will be left are full-time consultants and three are locums. Everything has to be considered in the mix as to what that provision of care looks like. That comes down to clinical experience to ensure that we have the safest service. Six is too low. That is not safe. That is when the point of no return could happen. Those resignations do not take place until November, so there is still a window to work at pace to ensure that we get the requisite level of clinical cover into Daisy Hill.
758 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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