23rd January 2025
The Southern Trust has hosted a visit from the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Committee for Health.
Committee members first visited Daisy Hill Hospital to meet with staff and learn more about services before holding their weekly Committee meeting in the Trust’s Monaghan Row Boardroom.
In Daisy Hill Hospital, the MLAs saw how the Medical Ambulatory Unit is helping to avoid a potential hospital admission for up to 30 patients each day. The team offer a range of options for those patients who may not need life-saving care from the Emergency Department or an inpatient admission, but do require urgent investigation or a short period of observation or treatment. This frees up staff time and clinical space in the Emergency Department for those patients who do need immediate acute emergency care and helps to prioritise inpatient beds for the sickest patients.
Health Committee members visited theatres and heard how plans to develop elective surgery and tackle waiting lists are progressing. In 2022, Daisy Hill Hospital was appointed as a regional elective overnight stay centre. Since then, the team have been working hard to recruit and rebuild planned surgery following a downturn due to the pandemic and ongoing pressures on medical beds. With excellent surgical facilities at Daisy Hill and following investment in training and equipment, the team are now undertaking most specialties including ENT, general surgery and dental for adults and children, gynaecology and most recently have started breast and urology.
At the Monaghan Row site, the Committee members met with the Acute Care at Home team who look after up to 60 patients each day in their own homes who would otherwise need hospital care.
Acute Care at Home has the same access to diagnostic and laboratory services as a hospital setting and treats patients over the age of 65 with acute illnesses in residential, nursing or their own homes. They have access to mobile diagnostic equipment, can take blood tests or organise other investigations and treat a range of conditions like chest infections, pneumonia or dehydration, for example.
The service aims to respond to referrals from GPs, Northern Ireland Ambulance service, hospitals, care homes and community specialist teams within just a few hours and has prevented over 12,000 hospital admissions and supported earlier discharge for more than 2000 people since it was set up in 2014.
Speaking during the visit, Southern Trust Chair Eileen Mullan said: “We were delighted to welcome Health Committee members, particularly during this very busy winter period, to see and hear first-hand from staff about the challenges they face and learn more about their efforts to improve access to high quality care for local patients.
“We greatly value the support of our political colleagues and the Committee of Health for holding their meeting at Monaghan Row. This was a great opportunity for local people to see the scrutiny and accountability given to delivering health and social care to our population.”