Dungannon doctor on call stays closed as health crisis deepens

DUNGANNON’S out of hours doctors service looks likely to remain closed for some time to come, as the crisis enveloping the health service took another worrying turn at the weekend.

The Southern Health Trust which covers south Tyrone was forced to stop ambulances carrying patients with non-life-threatening conditions coming to Craigavon Area Hospital on Sunday night due to severe capacity issues in the A &E department.

According to one report there were 108 patients waiting in the emergency department, with 32 needing hospital admission.

In a desperate social media appeal to the public, the Trust said they were also seeing a rise in Covid patients.

“Craigavon Area Hospital _CAH) is under extreme pressure – we are at full capacity, there are long waits in our Emergency Department and high numbers of Covid-19 in-patients,” said a spokesperson for the Trust on Sunday.

“We have taken the decision that ambulances will be diverted to hospitals elsewhere in the region – only in immediate life threatening situations will ambulances be going to CAH. We have taken the decision in the interests of patient safety and ask for your support. Please do not attend ED in CAH unless you need immediate help and do not request an ambulance unless in an emergency. Huge thanks to our HSC colleagues for their support.”

The Trust also appealed for any available staff to come in to work and help open additional beds.

Shane Devlin, who is the chief executive of the Southern Health and Social Care Trust said they were “exceptionally close” to declaring a major incident alert.

Meanwhile, the Southern Health Trust has confirmed to the Dungannon Herald that there are no plans to reopen the out of hours doctors which had been based at the South Tyrone Hospital in Dungannon.

Since the start of August, the doctor-on-call has been closed due to a lack of medical cover, and it was initially suggested that this was a temporary suspension of the service which would be reviewed at the end of August.

This week, however, the Trust confirmed that the service was “still under review”.

A spokesperson for the Trust said, “”The Urgent Care Out of Hours Service is a telephone-based service, offering advice and treatment to everyone living in The Southern Health and Social Care Trust area with urgent medical symptoms that cannot wait until their own GP reopens.

“Base appointments continue to be offered from the Daisy Hill and Craigavon Area Hospital sites. The Review of the Urgent Care Out of Hours Service is ongoing. As a telephone-based service, this temporary change should only affect those minority of patients who need to travel for an appointment. Patients should always call first to access our team of GPs, Pharmacists and Nurses. Most people will receive telephone advice and a small number may require a home visit.”

The latest health crisis has prompted a rise in calls for vaccine passports. On Wednesday (yesterday), ministers in the Stormont Executive were expected consider which circumstances and venues may require people to show any Covid-19 certificates. The Health Minister Robin Swann and Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill both said they would be in favour. “The domestic certification app has been up and running for over a week and I would encourage people to download it to ensure they have it when they need it,” said Mr Swann.