Debate contribution: Craigavon Area Hospital: Redevelopment

Debate contribution by Mr Justin McNulty on 1 April 2025.

MLA: Mr Justin McNulty
Party at the time: Social Democratic and Labour Party
Date: 1 April 2025
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Private Members' Business
Heading: Craigavon Area Hospital: Redevelopment
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 4876659

Text

I speak as a proud parish-pump politician. My parents' generation was raised and survived on buckets of water drawn from the parish pump. The parish pump was at the heart of daily life for families and communities. The parish pump was a lifeline. Craigavon Area Hospital is a lifeline hospital. Daisy Hill Hospital is a lifeline hospital. I support the motion, which addresses a critical issue that has significant repercussions for the lives of people in my constituency and beyond. The motion highlights the vital need for sustained capital investment in the hospital network. Specifically, it calls for urgent action:
"to address inequalities in the allocation of funding ... between health and social care trust areas"
and stresses the pressing need to advance the redevelopment of Craigavon Area Hospital, a project that has been far too long awaited. Craigavon Area Hospital is a vital hub for healthcare in the Southern Trust, providing essential services to 250,000 people across Armagh, Dungannon, Lurgan and Portadown and huge swathes of Counties Armagh, Tyrone, Down and Antrim and beyond. That is a quarter of a million people whose health needs rely on Craigavon Area Hospital as a first port of call, and we are eternally grateful for the service provided by the often-overburdened staff at Craigavon. I was disappointed that the DUP Member for Upper Bann did not give way. I wanted merely to support her call for Craigavon Area Hospital to become a centre of excellence. That I agree with wholeheartedly. Daisy Hill should also become a centre of excellence, with the supporting consultants and medical expertise. Despite the completion of a master plan for the redevelopment of Craigavon Area Hospital in 2016, we have seen little progress in the years since. That delay is simply unacceptable. The report published by the Southern Health and Social Care Trust in 2023, following the COVID-19 pandemic, paints a dire picture. Ageing equipment, inadequate clinical accommodation and a shortage of essential facilities such as beds, theatres and endoscopy space create conditions in which patients are at greater risk of infection. The situation not only jeopardises the health and well-being of citizens but puts enormous pressure on dedicated healthcare staff, who work tirelessly, often in challenging and unsafe environments. It is clear that that is unsustainable. The hospital must be redeveloped now. It is not just Craigavon Area Hospital that requires our attention. As many in the Chamber know, Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry also plays a pivotal role in the health and well-being of people in the Southern Trust area. Daisy Hill has been under increasing pressure for years, and it is time that we recognised the need for greater investment and support for Daisy Hill Hospital as well. Let us see ambition for Daisy Hill Hospital, and I hope that soon it can become a hub hospital, serving its natural hinterland on a cross-border basis. Craigavon and Daisy Hill hospitals are critical components of our healthcare infrastructure, yet both face significant challenges that cannot be ignored any longer. If we are to provide a healthcare system that is fit for the future and meets the growing demands of our communities, we need to ensure that funding is allocated fairly across all trust areas and, indeed, within trust areas. Craigavon Area Hospital can become a better hospital if Daisy Hill Hospital is supported to become a better hospital. I welcome the ongoing engagement between the Southern Trust and the Department of Health regarding the future of Craigavon Area Hospital. However, it is now time for action, time for the Minister of Health to approve and allocate the necessary funding for redevelopment. We cannot afford to delay any longer. Healthcare is a fundamental right, and we owe it to the people of the North to provide them with the best possible care. That means investing in our hospitals, improving facilities and ensuring that healthcare professionals have the tools and resources that they need to deliver the high standard of care that our citizens deserve. I urge the Assembly to support the motion, and I call on the Minister of Health to prioritise redevelopment and provide proper resourcing to Craigavon Area Hospital and Daisy Hill Hospital. Our communities deserve nothing less.

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

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