The number of outpatients at Daisy Hill Hospital has increased by 12,000 people in the last five years. And according to Dr Gillian Rankin, director of acute services in the Southern Trust this is a result of improved organisation of services within the hospital which means that less people are required to stay over night. The Trust came in for criticism earlier this year with accusations that some vital services within Daisy Hill were depleted. When Health Minister Edwin Poots visited the hospital in June he hinted that some vital services currently provided at the hospital could transfer to Craigavon Area Hospital. However Dr Rankin said the hospital is now running more effectively due to major changes in the last number of years with fewer inpatient beds, reorganisation of wards and more patients being treated as day patients. She added: “Improved organisation of services and the use of new technology allows us to access diagnose and treat patients more quickly than previously, greatly reducing the need for them to stay overnight in hospital. Now patients who may have previously been in hospital for three or four days may only need to stay for three or four hours. As a result of these changes we have 18 less inpatient beds in Daisy Hill than we had five years ago, however the number of patients moving through the hospital has increased. In recent years we have added six additional ‘day case’ beds to accommodate the growing numbers of patients not needing to stay overnight. Driven by safety, quality and effectiveness these developments aim to improve the overall patient journey. In the past five years we have treated 3,000 more people for emergency and unplanned care, the number of out patients has increased by 12,000 and there have been an additional 200 births each year. Thanks to the dedication of our staff and advances in healthcare we are seeing the hospital work more effectively and more importantly improving the patient experience.” Dr Rankin said the Trust is committed to the continued development of Daisy Hill Hospital. She said the Emergency Department is currently undergoing an extension and refurbishment programme; a dedicated 10 bed High Dependency Unit for the most seriously ill patients is due for completion in early 2012 and proposals have been developed to create an area wide Paediatric Centre of Excellence in the Hospital.
Newry Democrat
25th October 2011
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