Member's statement: Daisy Hill Hospital: Elective Caesarean Sections
Member's statement by Mr Justin McNulty on .
- MLA
- Mr Justin McNulty
- Party at the time
- Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Date
- 20 April 2026
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Daisy Hill Hospital: Elective Caesarean Sections
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5493189
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Mothers and families can rest assured that their babies will be born in Daisy Hill Hospital, the hospital in which they and generations of their family were born. I warmly welcome the confirmation from the Southern Health and Social Care Trust that elective caesarean sections are not due to be ceased at Daisy Hill Hospital. That confirmation was provided to 'Armagh I', amid rumours of proposals to end such provision at our hospital's brilliant maternity ward. Especially in the context of birth rates in Newry and Armagh and South Down being higher than birth rates anywhere else in the North, that rumour caused considerable worry and concern. Over 800 caesarean sections were performed at Daisy Hill Hospital in 2025, which further demonstrates how important it is that we protect that vital life-saving and life-giving service. The news will be reassuring for the dedicated and extremely professional maternity teams not only at Daisy Hill Hospital but at Craigavon Area Hospital. The service that is provided in every ward and department at Daisy Hill Hospital is extraordinary, despite the resourcing challenges often faced by teams in our brilliant hospital. I thank all the hard-working midwives and maternity staff at Daisy Hill Hospital and Craigavon Area Hospital, who have always demonstrated a powerfully positive esprit de corps and extraordinary expertise, along with genuine care and support for expectant mothers and their families. I recently spoke to the Southern Trust board about the importance of improving staff recruitment numbers to ensure that maternity teams experience the highest possible level of support in their jobs. I hope that the trust will implement plans to bolster staff recruitment. I again express my sincere thanks to all the maternity workers at Daisy Hill Hospital for all that they do to care for mothers and babies. The importance of the work that they do and the expert care that they offer is felt by everyone who walks through the doors of the maternity ward. They are worth their weight in gold. With the news that elective caesarean sections will continue at the maternity ward at Daisy Hill Hospital, mothers and families can be assured that their babies can be born in the same hospital where they were born and where generations of their families were born.
378 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.03 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.03 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.04 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.60 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.62 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.20 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.17 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.01 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:21 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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