A County Down woman, who is currently 25 weeks into her pregnancy and considered high risk, says uncertainty over where she will give birth is causing great anxiety during what should be “one of the most magical times of your life”.
The woman, who did not wish to be named, spoke to Armagh I from inside Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry today (Tuesday), where she had attended for an emergency appointment.
She was one of two expectant mothers who agreed to share their experiences after the Southern Health Trust confirmed on Monday that it may have to ‘temporarily’ relocate maternity services from Newry to Craigavon due to “significant pressures” on staff.
Both feel they are being left in the dark over where their babies will be born – and fearful of the added pressure on services at Craigavon if it goes ahead.
Staff too, says the Co Down mum-to-be, have also been left in limbo and out of the loop after learning of the potential move through the media.
“I’m now waiting for confirmation to hear what the story is,” she said. “I’m in at the moment getting fluid and there’s still no word whether I’m for Newry here or Craigavon.
“I have had a child in Craigavon and one in Newry so that affected my overall decision to come back to Newry because nothing compared to the level of care here. It’s just been fantastic.
“I think I probably won’t be notified until my next consultant appointment, which is October 1st.
“I’m currently receiving care in Daisy Hill Hospital, but I am also one of the affected women who will most likely now have to give birth in Craigavon and I am absolutely gutted after hearing this news.
“It’s the fact that we’re sitting here in the hospital and there’s no contact on what’s going to be happening regarding births. It’s a very busy day in the assessment unit here. I think they’re just focussing on getting the treatment that you need on the day.
“I’m consultant-led, so due to the lack of consultants, obviously, is maybe why I haven’t been contacted, but I probably will have to wait to find out what my birth plan now is, and to leave a lot of women in the same position, it’s very stressful.
“Giving birth should be one of the most magical times of your life and now it’s a cloud of confusion as to where I will be placed and that causes a lot of anxiety.
“Although it’s reassuring that our assessments and antenatal appointments can take place still within the hospital, I did not want to have my child at Craigavon; I chose Newry because the care here is so fantastic – it feels almost personal – and it’s what I am used to and didn’t want that to change.”
For the 41-year-old, who is due to deliver by C-section before Christmas, it’s a personal preference, as she said the care she had received during a previous pregnancy at Craigavon had also been “exceptional”.
But she fears that relocating all maternity services to Craigavon could force additional pressures there which could ultimately impact upon that level of care.
“How will Craigavon now cope with all the extra numbers of expectant mothers walking into their care of an already under pressure health system?,” she asked. “My worry now is, will enough attention be paid to me and will my level of care remain to the high standard it has been the past six months?
“I will be taken in for a planned C-section and now will there be space for me? I have so many questions I’m still awaiting answers for and it makes me anxious.”
She also highlighted other already existing pressures across the board and believes these will only increase if services are ‘consolidated’ – to use the Trust’s word – at Craigavon.
“It took me 40 minutes to find a parking space to attend my appointment today, a usual issue with all of our hospitals,” she added.
“At the start of my pregnancy I spent three days in the assessment unit of A&E, sharing a small cubicle room with three men, and had to sleep on a chair because we were told there were no beds.
“However, on day four, there was a place for me in the gynae department of the hospital, but I was crammed into a ward with no privacy curtain and next to a widow, for everyone passing by to see me in bed until I got a privacy screen that was on the other side of the glass. This is not the level of care any of us deserve.
“Wards were empty and beds were made up but, obviously, there’s a deep-rooted staffing issue here, as there obviously wasn’t the ability to fill them and have the staff to care for them.
“From speaking to the staff within the hospital, the meeting yesterday took place from 11.30am and ran on to 12.30pm, but was leaked to the press around midday, with many midwives having to learn about their jobs through the news before anything was said to them.
“We cannot forget the wonderful maternity staff here also at Daisy Hill; many of them have families to support of their own and many have their children placed within childcare locally in the Newry area and now face uncertainty with their jobs. My heart goes out to them all and I feel it’s important for the public to remain patient and respectful to all NHS staff who continuously do their best for us.
“It comes down to our leaders and decision-makers to make a system work that we all pay for and it’s them who are failing us.”
The Bengoa Report, produced in 2016 and aimed at transforming health and social care in Northern Ireland on a financially sustainable basis, was lauded then as the way forward.
But according to the Co Down woman, presently attending Daisy Hill, it has “failed miserably”.
She has also hit out at politicians and accused them of failing to deliver for people but readily delivering ‘sound bites’ instead.
“It took years for the Government to put the Bengoa restructure into place within our NHS system and, to my knowledge, this was to benefit our care and hopefully avoid issues like we are having today,” she said. “Evidently this plan has failed and, within this failure, it’s putting the most vulnerable people within our healthcare system at risk.
“After this has been put in place, it obviously hasn’t worked, it has failed miserably and, as a result of that, I can’t believe this is happening to such an amazing hospital, where the midwifery care is second to none; from the consultants, doctors and nurses, it has just been faultless.
“What makes me very confused is seeing our local MLAs all lined up to have interviews outside the hospital, saying how much they want to save this department from permanent closure, whilst we are suffering from more and more cuts, their pockets are being lined with another pay rise and our NHS is going to the dogs.
“It’s sheer embarrassment that, in 2026, we are being forced to accept this and believe the people we vote for are doing their best, because I feel they aren’t doing enough, in all sectors involving NHS care, education, infrastructure, and now with maternity cuts it’s unacceptable and changes need to happen now.
“I feel so strongly on this matter and feel so many of us are being let down from all areas. We need to do all we can to spotlight this really worrying situation.”
A second mum-to-be said the news had left her “terrified”, as she shared with us similar concerns over how Craigavon Area Hospital would be able to manage with the additional births if Daisy Hill maternity was no longer an option.
With her second child now due in February, she says she is “very, very worried” about what lies ahead after what she experienced during her first pregnancy.
She explained: “I was due to give birth to my first child in Craigavon in summer 2025. My induction was booked at 41 weeks, as it’s advised not to go over this length in pregnancy. I did not hear anything from Craigavon on the day and, when I contacted them that evening, I was told I was on the list but they could not tell me when my induction could happen because of emergencies.
“I rang again a day later at 41 weeks and one day and again was told that my induction would not be that day as they were too busy. At this stage I was worried to the point of tears.
“Thankfully, patient inflow contacted me and offered me to go to Daisy Hill and I went straight away. When they broke my waters there was meconium in the amniotic fluid which is extremely dangerous for both mother and baby. There is no way of knowing if there is meconium in the waters until they break, so had I not gone to Daisy Hill I would not have known about this potentially life-threatening situation and dread to think about the outcome had I been left to wait longer.”
Again advocating for a full retention of services at the Newry-based hospital and encouraging people to show their support, she added: “My experience at Daisy Hill was fantastic with the care I received from the staff there.
“I’m extremely worried how Craigavon will cope with an extra 1,700 births per year if they could not cope with what they had last summer.
“I’m sure the staff at Craigavon are fantastic too, but the reason they cited for not being able to induce me was that they didn’t have enough beds or induction bays. Even if they bring staff across from Daisy Hill there still wouldn’t be enough beds for everyone.
“I also know someone who attended the maternity assessment unit in CAH recently and planned sections were being cancelled because there wasn’t enough consultants on that day. I just don’t know how Craigavon Area Hospital will cope with the extra births if they are so stretched already. Surely more pressure on staff will increase the number of staff going off sick due to stress etc., and make matters even worse.
“The news has left me terrified and honestly close to tears even thinking about it.”
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