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NI trust plans temporary maternity move from Daisy Hill to Craigavon
BBC News NI reported that Southern Health Trust plans to temporarily consolidate inpatient maternity care at Craigavon from Nov. 23 because it cannot recruit enough consultant obstetricians for Daisy Hill.
- New headline Was: “'What does it say if a woman can't give birth in her own city?'”
- Our desk filed its story
Northern Ireland's Southern Health and Social Care Trust plans to temporarily move inpatient maternity services from Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry to Craigavon Area Hospital from Nov. 23, BBC News NI reported, saying it has not been able to recruit enough consultant obstetricians to staff both sites safely1.
A trust spokesperson said operational and workforce assessments identified inpatient maternity care at Craigavon as the safest and most sustainable arrangement, BBC reported1. The trust said it is still trying to recruit consultants for Daisy Hill while preparing to consolidate births and inpatient care at Craigavon1.
BBC said the trust has five vacant obstetrician posts and cannot provide a safe maternity service at Daisy Hill without that medical cover1. It employs 15 consultant obstetricians, but sickness, reduced working arrangements and maternity leave mean not all are available for the consultant on-call rota, the report said1.
Chief executive Steve Spoerry told Stormont's Health Committee that keeping women and babies safe was the trust's highest priority1. He said there would not be enough consultants for daytime and out-of-hours rotas at both units and that a transfer to Craigavon is highly probable from next month1.
Mothers in the Newry area told BBC that losing local inpatient maternity care would mean longer journeys when urgent care may be needed1. Natasha Daryaie said midwives at Daisy Hill wanted to send her to Craigavon when she went into premature labour but were told there was no room, and she was taken about 40 miles (64 kilometers) to Ulster Hospital instead1.
Daryaie said a Daisy Hill midwife travelled with her; she spent four nights at Ulster Hospital, was stabilised and sent home, and her son Odin was later born at Daisy Hill at full term1. "What does it say if a woman can't give birth in her own city?" she said1.
She questioned how Craigavon would handle about 1,400 extra mothers and babies, BBC reported1. Another mother, Seanan Martin, said removing a service was not the answer and that safety of mothers, babies and staff should come first1.
It reported midwife vacancy figures equivalent to 0.61 full-time posts at Daisy Hill and 11.69 at Craigavon1. The trust said that after emergency general surgery was withdrawn from Daisy Hill in 2024, maternity services used a risk-stratification procedure to support care1.
The report quoted other families warning about travel time over rural roads if labour starts unexpectedly; those accounts were not independently verified here1.
Not medical advice.