Review at early stages says Trust

FOLLOWING concerns raised by South Down MLA Margaret Ritchie that the night switchboard for the Southern health area may be moved to Craigavon, the Trust has responded by saying they are at the "early stages" of a review of their services.
By The Newsroom
Published 20th Jan 2010, 11:49 BST
Updated 22nd Jan 2010, 15:31 BST

A spokesperson from the Southern Health and Social Care Trust said, “The Southern Trust has a number of switchboards operating across the organisation, with the main ones located at Craigavon Area, Daisy Hill, St Luke’s and South Tyrone hospitals.

“At present three of these four switchboards operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. As the number of calls received throughout the night is significantly lower than during day-time hours, we are reviewing the current service to ensure that it is as efficient and effective as it can be.

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“We are at the very early stages of this review and have not made any decisions on location or operating hours. Staff will be involved at every stage of this process and we are committed to ensuring that any changes will continue to offer an effective, high quality service to patients, clients and staff.”

Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie said last week that she would be raising the matter of a possible relocation of the switchboard service from Daisy Hill to Criagavon with Health Minister Michael McGimpsey.

Related topics:CraigavonDaisy Hill