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Mayor calls for public to get behind rally

Mayor Daire Hughes has called upon the Newry and Mourne public to get behind the Save Daisy Hill Stroke Services rally on Saturday March 28, urging them to turn up and show solidarity for the vital service. In the run up to the rally the councillor expressed his view that it was imperative for the people to turn up and show their opposition to the proposed closure. “Whilst this campaigned is focused on saving the excellent stroke unit it is vital for the future that the Southern Trust and the Minister are shown the importance of Daisy Hill to the people of this area and that we will resist any attempts to reduce services. We must show our opposition to centralized model of health care which is not appropriate for the rural nature of Northern Ireland,”      he said. The Council’s Health Service Working Group behind the campaign have stated that it has regularly discussed the potential problems for people in this region of accessing services in either Belfast or Craigavon due to the distance poor road infrastructure and lack of adequate transport provision believing that the local service must be retained. With the Donaldson Report into Health Services in Northern Ireland recommending wholesale reductions and a service more in line with that of urban England, campaigners believe that it is vital that the community stands up for what it is acknowledged to be an excellent hospital with Councillor Hughes calling on the public to join the rally at Marcus Square at 12 noon that Saturday and lobby for the retention of current services.

 

24th March 2015

Newry Democrat