The Southern Trust has been warned that sweeping budget cuts could “seriously” damage Daisy Hill Hospital and leave Newry “last to get and first to lose”, as chiefs were pressed on job security, stalled projects and care packages at this week’s finance meeting.
Addressing the Trust’s financial planning meeting, Newry and Armagh MLA Justin McNulty said he recognised the “hugely challenging and impossible position” the board had been placed in by the Executive’s failure to agree a budget, but warned the consequences on the ground could be stark.
“This has brought significant uncertainty and instability for the sector’s long-term financial planning and for the whole transformation project,” said the SDLP representative.
“Given this reality, I have concerns about the delivery of the long-delayed Newry Community Treatment Centre, the allocation of care practices and job security for our invaluable healthcare workers, including porters.”
Related: Southern Trust drawing up plans to cut £42.4m off its annual budget next year
Mr McNulty said his worries had been heightened by “the announcement of a 12 per cent cut across Trusts over the next three years”, which he said had “raised alarm bells for health unions about the threat of job cuts, especially for cleaning staff and porters”.
“Cleaning staff and porters are vital to the efficient going of our hospitals. Without them, sanitation and cleanliness standards would not be upheld, furthering risk for the spread of sickness,” he told the board.
“These workers are necessary and valued and should not be treated as disposable by Trusts.”
Posing a series of questions to senior management, the MLA asked: “How much is currently known about the scale of these cuts, and how will it impact service delivery and staffing in the Southern Trust?
“What services and areas are most likely to be impacted by cuts, and are layoffs part of this plan?”
He said there were already “funding deficits in the Daisy Hill Hospital estate impacting long-delayed project delivery and essential maintenance works” and warned: “Further cuts threaten to impact services and disrupt patient care.”
Turning specifically to Newry’s long-promised Community Treatment Centre, Mr McNulty pointed out that similar facilities in Banbridge and Lisburn had been operating for years.
“The Newry Community Treatment Centre was promised over a decade ago, but is still on hold awaiting the release of the Department’s 10-year capital plan,” he said.
“The treatment centres in Banbridge and Lisburn have long been operational. Only Newry’s Health Hub has not been delivered.
“I’m concerned that these cuts will follow on this trajectory of ‘last to get and first to lose’ trend that keeps persisting with Daisy Hill which has always been disproportionately impacted.”
He pressed Trust leaders for firm guarantees: “What assurances can be made to healthcare workers that their jobs will be protected? And what assurances can be offered to patients and their families that these cuts will not reduce quality of care?
“My office is inundated with families at their wits’ end because they are unable to secure a care package for their loved ones.
“How will the Trust ensure that these cuts do not threaten the capacity and provision of care packages which are already not able to meet the demands of patients and families across this Trust?”
Despite the pressures, Mr McNulty paid tribute to staff across the Southern Trust.
“Under such pressure and lack of resources, we still see our incredible healthcare workers working tirelessly to provide high levels of care to all patients,” he said.
“I want to thank them for all their compassion, knowledge and skills in caring for patients in every circumstance.”
The Southern Trust’s Chief Executive is expected to respond to Mr McNulty’s concerns in a separate item on the Trust’s financial plan.
