Debate contribution: Craigavon Area Hospital: Redevelopment

Debate contribution by Mr Jonathan Buckley on 1 April 2025.

MLA: Mr Jonathan Buckley
Party at the time: Democratic Unionist Party
Date: 1 April 2025
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Private Members' Business
Heading: Craigavon Area Hospital: Redevelopment
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 4876619

Text

It is great that, for the second time in just two weeks, we are discussing Craigavon Area Hospital. To that end, I thank my colleague Diane Dodds for bringing this important motion to the House. I sense that there is unanimous agreement about some of the issues facing Craigavon. I wondered whether I should declare an interest at the outset of the debate because, beginning on 19 July 1991, I spent a few days availing myself of free accommodation in Craigavon Area Hospital, albeit things have changed since. Since 1972, Craigavon Area Hospital and its staff, including those who have since passed, have really been a beacon of service in the local area. We are thankful for the staff and the high quality of healthcare that has been provided during that time. However, we are 50 years on, and there is always a need for updating and change. I point out the importance of Craigavon Area Hospital as a regionally significant acute hospital. As my colleague mentioned, it serves over 240,000 people. Sometimes, I feel that the earliest mistake with Craigavon Area Hospital was to call it "Craigavon Area Hospital" because it has led to parish-pump party political points often being made when it is discussed. Craigavon Area Hospital is not just for Craigavon; it serves Upper Bann, Newry and Armagh, South Down, Mid Ulster, Fermanagh and South Tyrone and some of the new Lagan Valley constituency. It vastly outstrips the wider Craigavon area. Therefore, it is of regional significance to the Assembly. Its progress and success is all of our success. The bulk of the current capital spending is on maintaining old buildings. That was my point when I intervened during Mrs Dillon's speech. I accept that preserving and maintaining old buildings is necessary, but, sometimes, that is not the best use of capital spend. Those buildings can be patched up and maintained, but they will never meet some of the essential needs of modern healthcare. It is not all a negative picture. The Blossom children's centre at Craigavon is an excellent modern facility. It is certainly a model of what Craigavon could look like if its vision were to materialise. There was a vision and plan in 2016, but it has not been realised. Indeed, we have seen a piecemeal approach to that long-term problem. It is something that we need to get a grip of.
I thank the Member for the intervention. That is important; it is about setting out a strategic plan for what healthcare will look like in the future. The Member mentioned in her speech that we need modern, high-quality healthcare at Craigavon. At the moment, sadly, that is not being delivered, although that is no fault of the many dedicated staff. The challenges that the current estate faces are well known. I think that, since I became an elected representative, there has not been a single day during which I have not dealt with a health-related case in relation to the Craigavon hospital estate. I imagine that Members across the House have similar issues relating to a hospital in their constituency. This is an issue that is continually on repeat at Craigavon, whether it is to do with sewage leaks or, as is mentioned in the motion, the serious adverse incident report on COVID. I recently visited some of the new blocks at the Ulster Hospital. I could not believe the space and environment in some of those blocks of the hospital, particularly when it comes to corridor space. I make no bones about saying this: when you go to Craigavon, you see that, at times, it looks like a war scene. It looks like a war scene because its corridors are crowded with beds, its accident and emergency with patients. Given that we have such a population base, if we are to advance healthcare so that it befits the population that we serve, those issues have to be addressed. We have talked about issues such as ventilation, overcrowding, ageing equipment, lack of clinical accommodation and insufficient bed space. All those issues are continually to the fore at Craigavon Area Hospital. I note that the motion is constructive in saying that discussions are continuing and that there has been "engagement" between the Department of Health and the Southern Trust on Craigavon. My point is that those conversations have to show us a concrete way forward to ensure that we realise the true potential of Craigavon. It is strategically located and can provide the full benefit of servicing that region in a way that befits, I believe, the House and the country.

768 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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