Annual Report 2011-12 - Southern Health and Social Care Trust

2011 - 2012 

New High Dependency Unit 

for Daisy Hill Hospital Page 17 

Reablement 

page 22 

Physical Disability Community 

Access Service page 35 

Roots of Empathy 

page 39

southern health and social care trust 

Contents and contacts 

Contents 

Who’s who on the Trust Board 5 

Directors’ Report 6 

Providing safe high quality care 13 

Maximising independence and choice for our 

patients and clients 24 

Being a good social partner in our communities 32 

Making the best use of resources 36 

Supporting people and communities 39 

Being a great place to work – valuing our people 46 

Directors’ Remuneration 2011/12 50 

Financial information 55 

Contact us 

Southern Health and Social Care Trust 

Trust Headquarters, Old College of Nursing 

Craigavon Area Hospital, 68 Lurgan Road, Portadown BT63 5QQ 

Tel: 028 3833 4444 

Fax: 028 3833 5496 

Email: Corporate.HQ@southerntrust.hscni.net 

www.southerntrust.hscni.net 

Comments 

If you have any comments about this report or would like extra 

copies please telephone 028 3861 3954. 

Different formats 

This report can be made available on request in large print, on disk, 

via email, in Braille, on audiocassette or in minority languages for 

anyone not fluent in English. Telephone: 028 3861 3954. 

© Crown Copyright 2012 

The text in this document (excluding the organisation logos) may be reproduced free of charge in any 

format or medium providing that it is reproduced accurately and not used in a misleading context. The 

material must be acknowledged as Crown copyright and the title of the document specified. 

page 2 

Southern Trust is Transforming Your Care

Message from Chair and Chief Executive 


Message from Roberta Brownlee MSc, RGN, Chair and 

Mairead McAlinden, Chief Executive 

This last year has seen the start of a fundamental 

change in how health and social care in Northern 

Ireland will be provided in future. In December, Health 

Minister, Edwin Poots, launched ‘Transforming Your 

Care’ his blueprint for how care will be organised, 

delivered and managed in years to come. 

There is no doubt that the many developments outlined 

in Transforming Your Care will be a major change, 

both for the how we plan and provide services, but 

also in changing what patients should expect from 

health and social care. But this is a path of change 

that the Southern Trust is already on, and has been 

successful in delivering. We are already ‘Transforming 

Your Care.’ 

For instance, care should be provided as close to 

home as possible - for older people, for patients with 

long term health conditions, for clients with learning 

difficulties or mental health issues. Our Reablement 

project helps people who, through injury or illhealth, 

have lost the confidence or skills to manage 

independently and need support to do things for 

themselves. 

There will be an emphasis on preventing ill-health, 

keeping fit and well by making lifestyle changes 

that will make our population healthier in the longer 

term. The Southern Trust was part of the Give it a Go 

initiative that encouraged people across the area to 

be active, eat well and feel good during March. 

New technology will enable health expertise to 

be shared more widely and easily, allowing more 

people to benefit and to make care more accessible. 

Through our award winning telemonitoring project 

we are supporting patients with long term chronic 

conditions to remain at home. 

We welcome the changes outlined in Transforming 

Your Care – as you will see in this report they reflect 

the work already going on in the Southern Trust and 

the priorities we want to see for our population. Our 

priorities reflect the valuable feedback we get from our 

patients and clients, and through our close working 

relationship with our service users, the Patient Client 

Council, elected representatives and the community. 

There is no doubt the next few years will be very 

challenging but it is vital to retain public confidence in 

Southern Trust is Transforming Your Care 

the quality of our services. The programme of reform 

is working alongside a continuing financial situation 

that means we must be assured that everything we 

do represents value for money and that we live within 

the funding given to us. Staff across the service are 

involved in how we shape and deliver services, which 

is why in the Southern Trust, we have a proven track 

record of delivering safe, high quality care while 

meeting our financial targets. 

The Trust has clear priorities which guide everything 

that we do. These are:- 

• Providing safe high quality care 

• Maximising independence and choice for our 

patients and clients 

• Supporting people and communities to live 

healthy lives and improve their health and 

wellbeing 

• Being a great place to work, valuing our staff 

• Making best use of resources 

• Being a good social partner within our 

communities. 

In this report you will see many examples of how 

we put service users first, support new initiatives, 

recognise our staff and ensure that our services are 

best practice in the UK and world-wide, while also 

leading the way in research and innovation. You 

will see how the commitment, hard work, drive and 

determination of our staff to deliver a top class service 

is making a difference to our local communities. 

This year we have continued to work closely with the 

Department of Health, Social Services and Public 

Safety to secure significant capital investment for 

major developments across the Trust. 

Work is currently underway in upgrading theatres 

at Craigavon Area and Daisy Hill Hospitals; 

Lurgan Hospital has new lifts; the Health Minister 

announced a £16m investment to build the new 

Banbridge Heallth and Social Care Centre and 

accommodation for outpatients at Craigavon and 

Daisy Hill has undergone a major facelift. 

We have continued our drive to reduce hospital 

acquired infections – hosting a workshop with the 

Patient Client Council to gather the public’s views 

page 3


Message from Chair and Chief Executive 

Message from Roberta Brownlee MSc, RGN, Chair and 

Mairead McAlinden, Chief Executive 

and to raise awareness of how the Trust is tackling 

this issue. 

As part of our drive to reduce infection rates still 

further, staff hosted a week long hospital visiting 

campaign, handing out leaflets and speaking to 

visitors about the importance of the hospital visiting 

policy. We have had valuable support from local 

elected representatives and media in communicating 

this information to the public. 

We are working to improve choice, access and 

information for our patients and clients. A group of 

young care leavers produced a DVD to help support 

young people in care and provide advice about 

education, employment and training, accommodation, 

health and finance. 

Improving health and wellbeing is a key priority for us. 

Once again we used No Smoking Day to encourage 

people not to smoke near our hospital buildings, and 

to keep the smoke free zone to stop cigarette smoke 

drifting into patient care areas and offices. 

Once again this year our staff have been overwhelmed 

by the generosity of the public who donate thousands 

of pounds to the Trust each year. They come from 

individuals, community groups, families, patients, 

sports clubs, school businesses – from all walks of 

life and all areas of our Trust. 

This generosity of our community makes it possible 

for the Trust to do things that otherwise would simply 

not be possible – and we are extremely appreciative 

of all your support. 

We also would like to acknowledge and thank all of 

those who volunteer for the Trust. There are over 

500 volunteers working with the Trust and we greatly 

appreciate the work they do and the tremendous 

contribution they make to the health and social care 

needs of people living in this area. Their kindness 

and generosity of time has touched hundreds of 

people and has made a real difference to their lives. 

Finally we would like to thank our community, voluntary, 

statutory and private sector partners in care who 

make such an important contribution to local health 

and social care. 

Mrs Roberta Brownlee 

Mrs Mairead McAlinden 

page 4 


Who’s who in the Trust Board 


Mrs Roberta Brownlee 

Chair 

Tel: 028 3861 3953 

Roberta.Brownlee@southerntrust.hscni.net 

Non Executive Directors 

Executive Directors 

Mrs Mairead McAlinden 

Chief Executive 

Tel: 028 3861 3960 

Mairead.McAlinden@southerntrust.hscni.net 

Mr Stephen McNally 

Director of Finance and Procurement 

Tel: 028 3861 3982 

Stephen.McNally@southerntrust.hscni.net 

Mr Paul Morgan 

Director of Children and Young People’s 

Services / Executive Director of Social Work 

Tel: 028 3839 8347 

Paul.Morgan@southerntrust.hscni.net 

Dr John Simpson 

Medical Director 

Appointed: 1 August 2011 

Tel: 028 3861 3978 

John.Simpson@southerntrust.hscni.net 

Mrs Deirdre Blakely 

Mrs Hester Kelly 

Dr Raymond Mullan 

Mrs Siobhan Rooney 

Commenced: 29 August 2011 

Mr Edwin Graham 

Mrs Elizabeth Mahood 

Mr Roger Alexander 

Commenced: 29 August 2011 

Mr Francis Rice 

Director of Mental Health and Disability 

Services / Executive Director of Nursing and AHPs 

Tel: 028 3883 3222 

Francis.Rice@southerntrust.hscni.net 

A declaration of Board members’ interests has been 

completed and is available on request from the Chief 

Executive’s office, Trust Headquarters, College of 

Nursing, Craigavon Area Hospital, 68 Lurgan Road, 

Portadown, BT63 5QQ. Telephone 028 3861 3960. 

The Chief Executive has confirmed that there is no 

relevant audit information of which the Trust’s auditors 

are unaware. A full statement of internal control is 

available from the Chief Executive’s office. 

Trust Directors 

Mrs Paula Clarke 

Director of Performance and Reform 

Tel: 028 3861 3945 

Paula.Clarke@southerntrust.hscni.net 

Mr Kieran Donaghy 

Director of Human Resources and Organisational 

Development 

Tel: 028 3861 3981 

Kieran.Donaghy@southerntrust.hscni.net 

Mrs Angela McVeigh 

Director of Older People and Primary Care 

Tel: 028 3861 3979 

Angela.McVeigh@southerntrust.hscni.net 

Dr Gillian Rankin 

Director of Acute Services 

Tel: 028 3861 2510 

Gillian.Rankin@southerntrust.hscni.net 


page 5


Directors’ Report 

The Southern Health and Social Care Trust was 

formed on 1 April 2007 and is responsible for 

the services which were formerly delivered by 

four Trusts, namely Armagh and Dungannon 

Trust; Craigavon and Banbridge Community 

Trust; Craigavon Area Hospital Group Trust 

and Newry and Mourne Trust. 

Location and type of facilities provided 

The Trust provides health and social care services to the 

council areas of Armagh, Banbridge, Craigavon, Dungannon 

and South Tyrone and Newry and Mourne. 

The Trust provides a wide range of hospital, community and 

primary care services. Main in-patient hospital services are 

located at Craigavon Area Hospital and Daisy Hill Hospital. 

Working in collaboration with GPs and other agencies, staff 

deliver locally based services in Trust premises, in people’s 

own homes and in the community. The Trust purchases 

some services including domiciliary, residential and nursing 

care from independent and community/voluntary agencies. 

Population 

Age 

Population 

0-4 27,701 

5-17 64,461 

18-64 219,906 

65-74 26,179 

75+ 20,400 

Total Population 358,647 

Expenditure 

In 2011/2012 the Trust incurred expenditure of £543,906. 

Staff Profile 

The Trust employs approximately 13,300 staff with over 75.2% 

of staff providing direct hands on care to patients and clients. 

Management costs accounted for 3.7% of income in 2011/12. 

The sickness and absenteeism rate for the Trust is 5.06%. 

Our Vision 

To deliver safe high quality health and social care services, 

respecting the dignity and individuality of all who use them. 

Our Values 

We will:- 

• Treat people fairly and with respect 

• Be open and honest and act with dignity 

• Put patients, clients, carers and community at the heart 

of all we do 

• Value staff and support their development to 

improve our care 

• Embrace change for the better 

• Listen and learn. 

Information Governance 

During 2011/2012 the Trust continued to develop and 

implement its Information Governance framework which 

includes Records Management, Data Protection and Freedom 

of Information. Some of the key highlights from the past year 

include: 

• Establishing an Information Governance Forum Chaired 

by the Medical Director. 

• Appointment of the Director of Performance and Reform 

as Senior Information Risk Owner and Heads of Service 

as Information Risk Owners. These roles aim to support 

the delivery of the DHSSPS Information Governance 

Framework, under which we have also established an 

asset register of personal and sensitive data. 

• Personal Data Guardians for the Trust have been approved 

and a process put in place to ensure all sharing of Trust 

data is in line with Data Protection principles. The Medical 

Director and Director of Children and Young People’s 

Services are leads for ensuring compliance with the Data 

Protection Act 1998 and the Code of Practice on Protecting 

the Confidentiality of Service User Information. 

• Establishment of a register of electronic data sharing 

requests 

• Approved the implementation of software to detect 

unauthorised access to information. 

• A number of policies have been reviewed, approved and 

circulated to staff including: Data Protection, ICT Security, 

and Social Networking. 

• Regional protocols implemented including the DHSSPS 

& HSC Protocol for Sharing Service User Information for 

Secondary Purposes. 

• Continuing to advise staff on data protection issues eg. 

use of Personal Mobile Phones; use of USB Memory 

Sticks; and Good Records Guidance. 

• Participating in the DHSSPS Information Governance 

Advisory Group and through this are participating in the 

review of the Records Management Controls Assurance 

Standard. 

• Progressing projects to ensure the destruction of records 

in accordance with Good Management: Good Records. 

• Processing 590 requests for information (33% increase 

since the previous year). 

• Mandatory e-learning Information Governance training 

programme rolled out to 671 staff. 

page 6 


Management commentary part one 


Achievement of ministerial 

priorities - Trust on target 

All aspects of Trust business are closely 

monitored. This enables us to ensure that 

all our services are running smoothly and 

on target. It also provides an early warning 

if something is not on track. Every month the 

Trust’s senior management team scrutinises detailed 

information about a wide range of areas, including 

those below, and will review areas on a weekly basis 

if we are encountering particular challenges or 

demands on our services: 

• Time patients wait to be seen in A&E 

• How long patients wait to receive their first 

outpatient assessment 

• Turnaround time for diagnostic tests 

• Infection rates and hospital cleanliness 

• Patient and clients’ views. 

Our performance reports also go to monthly public 

Trust Board meetings. Papers are published on our 

website www.southerntrust.hscni.net so everyone 

can keep a close eye on how we are doing. This level 

of performance management helps us to ensure that 

what we do is safe, that we are making best use of 

our resources and meeting targets which are there to 

benefit patients and clients. 

During 2011/2012 the Trust continued to further 

develop and improve many important services. Our 

dedicated staff also worked hard to meet targets 

designed to ensure better access to high quality 

services. Key achievements included:- 

• 9 out of 10 patients attending A&E 

departments were treated and admitted or 

discharged within 4 hours and virtually no one 

waited over 12 hours. 

• No patients waited longer than 9 weeks for an 

imaging diagnostic test. 

• 8 out of 10 patients were seen within 9 weeks for 

out-patient assessment. 

• 7 out of 10 patients were seen within 13 weeks for 

in-patient or day case treatment 

• 98% of patients who were ready to go home when 

their hospital treatment was complete were 

discharged within 48 hours. 

• Every older person with continuing care needs 

had their assessment carried out within 8 weeks. 

• Resettlement of long-stay adults from learning 

disability hospitals continued with a further 22 

people resettled during the year in line with the 

Bamford Report recommendations. 

Southern Trust facts and 

figures 2011/12 

The Trust spends nearly £1.49 million per 

day delivering services to local people. 

During the past year:- 

• There were a total of 6021 births in the Southern 

Trust. There were 4034 births in Craigavon Area 

Hospital and 1987 in Daisy Hill Hospital. 

• 76,709 people attended Craigavon Area 

Hospital Emergency Department and 40,387 

attended Daisy Hill Hospital Emergency 

Department. 

• A total of 29,330 people received treatment at 

the Minor Injuries Units across the Southern 

Trust. Of these, 20,320 received treatment at 

the Minor Injuries Unit at South Tyrone Hospital, 

6,842 at the Minor Injuries Unit in Armagh 

Community Hospital and 2,168 attended the 

Minor Injuries Unit at Mullinure Hospital. 

• The Trust received 11,964 child care referrals. 

• The GP Out of Hours service received 112,950 

telephone calls: 

53,303 of these calls were assessed by a GP 

or Nurse via telephone and provided with 

healthcare advice. Advice from a GP or Nurse 

meant that 53,303 service users did not require 

an appointment. In the Out of Hours centres at 

Daisy Hill, South Tyrone, Mullinure, Craigavon 

and Kilkeel 52,332 patient appointments were 

provided. A further 6,925 home visits were 

undertaken by GPs across the Trust area. Through 

the CAWT cross border project the Trust has an 

arrangement whereby patients can choose to 

attend the Out of Hours centre in 

Castleblayney. In 2011/12 390 service users 

chose to attend Castleblayney. 

• The Trust provides domiciliary care to 

approximately 5,500 people. 

• The Trust facilitates the transport of 840 people 

each day into Day Centres (ie. 562 are on fleet 

buses and 278 going with a mix of private coaches, 

minibuses, taxis and volunteer drivers). 

• Total number of Outpatient Attendances - 320,750 

• New outpatient attendances - 103,717 

• Review outpatient attendances - 217,033. 

• Total number of inpatient admissions - 62,834 

• Elective - 8,205 

• Non-elective - 54,629. 

• Number of daycases - 30,081. 


page 7


Management commentary part two 

Trust’s Equality Scheme 

Gains Approval 

The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland 

has given its approval to the Southern Health 

and Social Care Trust’s Equality Scheme which 

details how the Trust will continue to promote 

equality of opportunity and good relations. 

In approving the Scheme, the Equality Commission 

acknowledged the considerable efforts made by the 

Trust to ensure the scheme not only fully complied with 

the Commission’s Guidelines, but also met the high 

standards of good practice. A new feature of the Trust’s 

Equality Scheme is the production of quarterly reports 

showing the outcomes from screening decisions. For 

full details of how the Trust is discharging its equality 

obligations please refer to the Trust’s Section 75 Annual 

Progress Report for year ending 31 March 2012, which 

will be uploaded to the Trust’s internet later this year, 

as well as the Trust’s quarterly screening outcome 

reports which can also be accessed on the internet. 

Alternatively copies of these reports can be obtained 

from contacting the Trust’s Equality Assurance Unit on: 

T: 028 3741 2522/2643. 

Protecting the Environment 

The Trust set out its commitment to the 

environment in its Environmental Strategy 

2009–2012. This has been the basis for various 

initiatives undertaken throughout the year. 

This year, we participated in the 13th Arena Network 

Environmental Survey – Northern Ireland’s leading 

environmental benchmarking exercise. We were 

delighted to be awarded Quintile 2 status (60-79%) as 

the survey was targeted at a higher level encouraging 

participants to continually improve environmental 

performance. 

The Trust is one of 48 participants in Northern Ireland 

of the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC). The 

CRC requires us to monitor carbon emissions for all 

electricity and fuels consumed and pay allowances 

for these. This adds significantly to energy costs and 

therefore requires continuous improvement in energy 

management throughout the organisation. 

During the year we invested in gas boiler projects at 

Edenderry Centre, Brownlow Health Centre and Eden 

SEC/Meadows Day Centre. This investment is a key 

aspect of the Trust commitment to reducing carbon 

emissions and will help to save money in energy 

procurement. 

lighting research project and further oil to gas boiler 

conversion projects across Trust sites. 

There was also further improvement in waste 

management infrastructure with the new waste 

transfer station at Daisy Hill Hospital and new bin 

store at Craigavon Area Hospital. Further planned 

improvements include the construction of a new waste 

transfer station at Craigavon Area Hospital. 

In 2012-13 the Trust will reaffirm its commitment to 

promoting a sustainable environment in the launch 

of it Sustainability Strategy 2020. This strategy, which 

has its roots in the former Environmental Strategy, 

incorporates the key sustainability elements of the 

DHSSPSNI Quality Strategy 2020 and will help to 

promote improved performance and ensure legal 

compliance in waste, energy, water and other 

environmental management issues. 

Controls Assurance 

The Trust achieved substantive compliance in 

all 22 controls assurance standards. 

Clinical & Social Care Governance 

Clinical and social care governance is a high 

priority for the Southern Trust. 

The Trust has recently reviewed its structures to 

support the delivery of high quality and safe services 

and is striving to be one of the leading learning 

organisations in healthcare, reviewing its strengths 

and weakness in the provision of care and working to 

constantly improve this for all service users. 

Each service directorate is supported by a dedicated 

team who assist frontline staff in reviewing comments 

and complaints from service users and learning from 

these while proactively identifying and reducing risk 

throughout the organisation. 

Good Governance 

The Trust’s professional governance team is 

responsible for promoting safe and effective 

care, enhancing the quality of services and 

training and workforce development for 

nurses, midwives, social work staff and Allied 

Health Professionals. To support this function 

the Assistant Directors for professional 

governance have structural arrangements in 

place to meet professional/regulatory body 

and Trust standards and guidelines. 

Opportunities for further improvement are currently 

being developed including the phased upgrade of 

energy infrastructure at Craigavon Area Hospital, 

Phase 2 of the Automatic Metering project, LED 

page 8 



Transforming Your Care 

Transforming Your Care (TYC) is a review into the future of Health and Social Care in 

Northern Ireland. The report, which was endorsed by the Minister in December 2011, 

contains 99 recommendations on how care should be provided in future. 

The Trust, in partnership with the Southern Locality Commissioning Group, developed a local 

Population Plan which is our response to TYC. Our Population Plan is called ‘Changing for a 

Better Future’ and it sets out a three to five year plan on how our services will be developed 

in future. 

‘Changing for a Better Future’ builds on the Trust’s track record of new ways of working and 

managing major change and shows that we are already ‘Transforming Your Care’. 

There are four major areas of change identified in TYC: 

• Prevention, early intervention 

• Greater choice and support for individual health and social care needs 

• Less dependence on facility-based care/reconfiguring hospital networks 

• Improved integration across all areas of the service. 

We have looked at how these will affect local services and what changes you should expect 

to see over the next five years. 

Early Intervention and Prevention: 

Our priorities will be: 

• Continuing our focus on prevention and 

early intervention across all service areas 

• Specific focus on children and young 

people, older people and populations/ 

areas of low uptake of health care 

- Family nurse partnership being 

developed 

- Falls prevention services being further 

developed through partnership with 

NIAS 

- Continuing our ‘Trust in Community’ 

strategy 

• Improved access to early support and 

advice through information hubs/single 

points of access 

- Access and information centres being 

established for Older People 

- Family support hubs in place. 

Which will result in: 

• Reducing the need for health and social 

care support and intervention 

• Improving health outcomes and 

addressing health inequalities. 


page 9



Enable Independent Living, Choice and Care at Home 


• Independent living – rolling out a 

reablement approach across the Trust 

area for older people, people with mental 

health needs and with disabilities 


• More domiciliary care being provided by 

independent, voluntary and social 

enterprise providers 

• Individual care plans – increasing the 

numbers of people using personalised 

budgets and accessing a greater 

diversity of provision across the 

community and independent sectors 

with the specific development of social 

enterprises. 

• Reduced statutory residential care 

• Reduced need for statutory day care by 

promoting day opportunities and 

reconfiguring remaining provision to 

focus on the specific need of people 

with dementia, challenging behaviour 

and high health care needs 

• Supported living accommodation – 

increasing provision and completing the 

resettlement of people with mental health 

and learning disability out of long-stay 

hospitals 

• A wider range of 

community based 

supports - including 

rapid response 

community teams 

and increasing 

support for people 

with dementia. 

• Closure of long-stay hospital based care 

for people with mental health problems 

and learning disabilities 

• Reduced local addiction in-patient beds 

(in line with the 

Regional Review of 

Addiction Services) 

• Opportunities for 

involvement in new 

community-based 

services. 

page 10 




Integrated Working between Primary, Community and Secondary Care 


• Integrated care partnerships - that 

join up the planning and delivery of 

care by primary, community, 

independent, voluntary and acute teams 

for people with complex needs 

• Focusing on people ‘at risk’ – looking at 

GP practice populations and working 

with GPs to target support at those with 

greatest needs starting with those over 

75 and with long term conditions 

• Rapid response – increasing access to 

services across longer periods of time 

(in the evenings and at weekends) 

• Outreaching expertise – enabling 

specialist hospital based staff to 

provide more care and advice to staff 

and patients in the community 

• Improving facilities – within primary 

and community care and access to 

diagnostic services to support team 

working 

• Making effective use of technology – 

to allow individuals to be monitored 

at home and allow a shared view of all 

information needed to effectively plan 

care. 


• Less ‘unplanned hospital admissions 

reducing the number of inpatient beds 

needed 

• More people with palliative or end of life 

care needs supported to die at home 

• At least 2 new Community Care and 

Treatment Centres in the area by 2015 

• Reduced duplication of information and 

diagnostic tests. 


page 11



Making Best Use of Our Hospital Network 


• Safe effective, personal hospital care 

• Re-balancing our hospital network 

to meet growing demand and service 

developments 

• Improving patient pathways 

• Innovative solutions with increasing use 

of technology and the skills of clinical 

and professional generalist and 

specialists 

• New ways of working increasing rapid 

access, day surgery, walk in/out care, 

use of virtual clinics and one-stop 

models 

and review procedures are undertaken 

in primary care. 


• Major acute hospital services at both 

CAH and DHH for at least the next five 

years with some movement between 

sites 

• Continuing maternity services care at 

both hospitals and MLU at CAH 

• Reducing the numbers of inpatient beds 

needed in our acute and non-acute 

hospitals to invest in community and 

primary care 

• Reducing waste of resources reducing 

the number of appointments where 

service users ‘Do Not Attend’ and the 

incidence of cancelled operations 

• Better managing demand by working 

with Primary Care to improve care 

pathways for referrals and to ensure that 

where appropriate diagnostic, treatment 

• More outpatient and diagnostic care 

provided outside the hospital 

• Further development of local access 

to sub-regional services such as 

orthopaedics, urology and cardiology 

• Ensuring patient/client quality and safety 

is maintained and the user experience 

and satisfaction is enhanced. 

Dr Paul McGarry, Dr Gillian Rankin, Director of Acute Services; Mr Erskine 

Holmes, Dr Cathy Daly, Dr Gareth Hampton and Mr Seamus O’Reilly, 

Clinical Director for Emergency Medicine. 

Daisy Hill Hospital staff celebrating their award as one of the top 40 acute hospital Trusts 

in the UK. 

page 12 


Providing safe high quality care 


Southern Trust Recognised 

Amongst Top in the UK 

The Southern Trust was recognised as one 

of the top 40 acute hospital Trusts in the UK 

at the prestigious CHKS awards in London 

this year. Recognising and rewarding 40 of the 

best performing acute Trusts across the UK, the 

CHKS 40 Top Awards are based on the evaluation 

of 23 indicators of clinical effectiveness, health 

outcomes, efficiency, patient experience and 

quality of care. 

Extra Consultants for Trust 

Emergency Departments 

The Trust has appointed five additional 

Consultants in Emergency Departments at 

Craigavon Area and Daisy Hospitals. Four 

of these posts were created in Craigavon’s 

Emergency Department. 

Top: Craigavon Area Hospital; Bottom: Daisy Hill Hospital - staff 

celebrating their award. 

Top: Dr Paul Mc Garry, Dr Gillian Rankin, Director of Acute Services, Mr Erskine Holmes, Dr Cathy 

Daly, Dr Gareth Hampton and Mr Seamus O’Reilly, Clinical Director for Emergency Medicine. 

Bottom: Dr Tom Young, recently appointed as Consultant in Emergency Medicine at Daisy Hill 

Hospital. 

Consultant is First in Ireland to use new Pacemaker Implant 

Dr David Morgan, Consultant Cardiologist has become the first cardiologist in Ireland to implant a 

new type of pacemaker which makes it much it easier for patients to have MRI scans. A patient in 

Craigavon Area Hospital was implanted with the device. Dr Ian Menown, Consultant Cardiologist 

and Director of Invasive Cardiology at the Trust’s Cardiac Centre, assisted in the procedure. 

Dr Morgan said “These devices will make it much easier for patients 

with pacemakers to have MRI scans. Previously there were problems 

with performing MRI scans on patients with pacemakers and doctors 

were extremely reluctant to perform these scans on patients with older 

pacemakers.” He added: “The pacemaker companies have been busy 

trying to create ‘MRI compatible’ pacemakers and this a very useful and 

significant development especially when considering the increasing 

numbers of MRI scans patients now undergo.” 

Kathy Hart, Nurse; Dr David Morgan and Dr Ian Menown, Consultant Cardiologists, prepare to implant the new pacemaker device. 


page 13



Research Studies Provide New Treatment for Trust Patients 

Cardiology patients in the Southern 

Trust area are being given access to new 

treatments and interventions as a result of 

staff involvement in a range of on-going, 

national, international and world-wide 

research studies. 

One such study involves interventional cardiology 

services at Craigavon Area Hospital. This has 

enabled large numbers of patients to benefit from 

the latest technology in next-generation cardiology 

stents. One of those staff involved in this research, 

Dr Ian Menown, Consultant Cardiologist and 

Director of the Trust’s Interventional Cardiology 

service, explained how this research has directly 

helped local patients: 

“Coronary artery narrowings or blockages are 

often treated by stretching with a balloon and then 

inserting a stent to help keep the artery open. 

Various stent types are now available enabling 

Cardiologists to optimise and individualise 

treatment for patients. On-going research studies 

at Craigavon have allowed local patients early 

access to some of the most advanced stent 

technologies. Most recently, our interventional 

Theatre Developments 

Work continues to upgrade Theatres 1–4 at 

Craigavon Area Hospital. Two modular theatres 

which had been used initially to provide the trauma 

and orthopaedic service at the Trust were upgraded 

in May 2011 then Theatre 3 and Theatre 4 relocated 

into this refurbished accommodation. The remainder 

of the scheme will be carried out in a number of 

phases and will deliver a further two theatres to 

replace Theatres 1 and 2, a 22 bed recovery ward 

incorporating 3 segregation rooms and pre-op/day 

surgery recovery beds, staff changing, storage and 

other support accommodation. Completion of the 

project is planned for May 2014. 

Plans are also in place to improve theatre 

accommodation at Daisy Hill Hospital. Daisy Hill 

currently has three theatres and a Day Procedures 

Unit. A business case has been submitted to the 

Department of Health for approval to develop an 

additional theatre and replace the Day Procedures 

Unit. The project valued at £2million would support 

additional activity under the CAWT (cross border 

health and social care) project. 

cardiology team recruited the highest number of 

participants in the world in an international study 

of a class-leading stent with a bio-degradable 

polymer coating.” 

Dr Peter Sharpe, the Trust’s Associate Medical 

Director of Research added: “Research activity 

in the Trust has shown a 400 per cent increase 

when compared with three years ago. Last 

year 84 research studies were undertaken in 

the areas of cardiology, paediatrics, cancer, 

stroke, critical care, nephrology, neurology, 

dermatology, gastroenterology, general medicine, 

forensic psychology, practice education/midwifery, 

occupational therapy, nursing, biomedical science, 

dietetics and practice education/facilitation.” 

Dr Peter Sharpe, 

Associate Director of 

Research & Development; 

Mairead McAlinden, 

Southern Trust Chief 

Executive; Lee Wilson, 

PPI representative, R&D 

Research Governance 

Committee; Dr Ian 

Menown, Consultant 

Cardiologist; Irene Knox, 

Research & Development 

Manager. 

New Phone Number for 

Children’s Gateway Service 

The Trust’s Gateway Service for Children’s 

Social Work has introduced a new telephone 

number for Child Care Referrals including 

Child Protection. 

Gateway is the first point of contact for people 

who wish to share a concern about a child/young 

person who is not already known to social services. 

The new telephone number for all new referrals 

or information about the service is 028 3741 5285 

This replaces the three previous local numbers. 

In addition, the service also operates an alternative 

Freephone Telephone Number 0800 783 7745 

which is free from landlines only. 

A Duty Social Worker is available to take calls: 

T: 028 3741 5285 Monday to Friday 

9am - 5pm (excluding Public Holidays). 

page 14 




If there’s Bugs About Keep them Out 

Last Autumn the Trust launched a new hospital 

visiting campaign. In a drive to help prevent and 

control infection, hospital staff spent a week 

giving out leaflets and speaking to visitors to 

explain the importance of the Trust’s visiting 

policy. 

Visiting is restricted to the allocated times and 

visitors are asked to follow the rules below: 

• Wash hands/use the hand rub provided when 

entering and leaving wards. 

• Two visitors allowed to each patient at a time. 

• Do not sit on the bed, touch wounds, drips or 

drains. 

• Don’t bring unnecessary items, flowers or food 

into the hospital. 

• Do not bring hot drinks to the ward for 

consumption. 

• Please discuss with Ward Manager before 

bringing children or babies to visit. 

• Do not visit if you or someone in your household 

has cold, flu, vomiting or diarrhoea. 

Hospital Visiting Times 

Adult Wards 

3:00pm - 4:00pm 

6:45pm - 8:15pm 

Children’s Wards 

3:00pm - 4:00pm 

6:45pm - 8:15pm 

Parents/Grandparents Anytime 

Maternity 

3:00pm - 4:00pm 

6:45pm - 8:15pm 

Partner/Significant Other 10:00am - 9:30pm 

Intensive Care Unit 2:00pm - 8:15pm 

High Dependency Unit 

Neo Natal Unit 

Special Care Babies Unit 

Parents/Grandparents 

anytime 

Launching the hospital visiting campaign are: Clinical Director Infection Prevention and 

Control, Dr Nizam Damani; Chief Executive, Mairead McAlinden; Hospital Volunteer, 

Doreen Calvert and Lead Nurse Infection Prevention and Control, Colin Clarke. 

Infection Prevention & Control Event at Craigavon Area Hospital 

The Trust and the Patient and Client Council 

invited people to share their views on infection 

prevention and control in hospitals at a 

workshop in Craigavon Area Hospital. 

The workshop was designed to gather the 

public’s views on a range of infection prevention 

and control issues, including hospital visiting and 

effective communication. 

Stella Cunningham, Area Manager for the Patient 

Client Council (PCC) facilitated the workshop 

and said: “Everyone attending the workshop got 

to find out more about the issues involved and 

had the opportunity to make their comments and 

suggestions directly to Trust Senior managers. 

Infection prevention and control is important for all 

of us whether we are patients, carers or relatives. 

We need to work in partnership with healthcare 

professionals to get the best out of services.” 

L-R Mairead McAlinden, Southern Trust Chief Executive; Colin Clarke, 

Trust Lead Nurse Infection Prevention and Control; Dr Nizam Damani, 

Clinical Director for Infection Prevention and Control; Dermot Mooney and 

Eileen Wright, PCC Southern Advisory Committee; Stella Cunningham, 

Area Manager, Patient Client Council. 


page 15



Health Minister Opens New 

Children’s Respite Unit 

In January Health Minister Edwin Poots officially 

opened Carrickore Children’s Respite Unit in Newry. 

Carrickore is a £2.5million facility providing respite care for 

eight children and young people with a disability and/or 

challenging behaviour from ages four to 18 years. The Trust 

runs the Unit in partnership with Orana Children and Family 

Centre. 

Pictured at the official opening of Carrickore Respite Unit in Newry is Health Minister 

Edwin Poots with Caoimhe Murphy who uses the centre and her aunt Elaine Rafferty. 

New Uniforms for Healthcare Staff 

A new regional uniform has been introduced at the Southern Trust to ensure easy recognition 

of healthcare staff by patients, users and members of the public. 

Registered nurses and midwives, 

Allied Health Professionals 

(Physiotherapists, Podiatrists, 

Speech and Language Therapists, 

Occupational Therapists, Dietitians, 

Radiographers, Orthoptists) and 

healthcare support workers in all 

health and social care settings in 

the Southern Trust are now wearing 

the new regional uniform. The 

uniform has the designation of each 

staff member embroidered on the 

top right shoulder. Staff also wear 

a name badge stating their role 

and area of work which will make 

it easier for patients and visitors to 

identify who is in charge and who 

to speak to if they have a concern. 

Patients, carers and the general 

public will see health care 

Staff Midwife Gretta Quinn, Sister Kate Cunningham, Clinical Sister Aoibheann 

Hutchinson, Staff Nurse Naoimh O’Neill, Sister Siobhan Rooney and Health Care 

Assistant Ann Craven from Daisy Hill Hospital model the new uniforms. 

professionals and support staff in the same standardised uniform across all health and social care 

facilities, including hospitals, private homes, day care and nursing homes. 

page 16 




New High Dependency Unit 

for Daisy Hill Hospital 

A new 10 bedded High Dependency Unit 

opened at Daisy Hill Hospital in March. 

The new unit, which has two segregation rooms, 

is used to treat the most acutely ill patients in 

the hospital and is connected to the Intensive 

Care Unit at Craigavon Area Hospital through a 

‘Telepresence’ robot. 

The Trust is the first in the UK to use the 

Telepresence robot which enables Intensive 

Care specialists from Craigavon to remotely 

assess patients. The robot allows real-time 

patient observation, examination and interaction 

between staff in different locations. It has the 

ability to transmit heart and breath sounds and 

can sometimes prevent the need to transfer 

patients to Intensive Care. 

The development is part of an ongoing 

modernisation programme for Daisy Hill and 

acute services within the Trust. 

Dr Gillian Rankin, Director of Acute Services 

says: “This new unit brings together specialist 

medical and nursing staff to ensure that the 

most seriously ill patients, whether they have 

coronary, medical or surgical problems, receive 

the best possible care in a dedicated area. 

The ‘Telepresence’ robot further enhances this 

service by supporting Daisy Hill and Craigavon 

staff to work together as an effective hospital 

network. This device ensures that all patients, 

regardless of which hospital they are in, receive 

the same expertise at any time, day or night.” 

Redevelopment of Lurgan 

Hospital 

This year saw the completion of a four phased 

redevelopment of Lurgan Hospital which 

started in 2010. 

The £2.6 million investment included refurbishment 

of wards and the dining room; environmental 

improvements; replacement of windows and external 

redecoration; a three storey extension to the entrance 

and a new fire evacuation bed lift and; external 

improvements to the site including resurfacing and 

an additional 30 car parking spaces. 

Artist’s Impression of Lurgan Hospital 

Approved Social Worker 

Handbook 

A handbook outlining the management of 

Mental Health Social Workers has been 

published. The Trust has statutory 

responsibilities under the Mental Health (NI) 

Order 1986 to manage the Approved Social 

Work Service. 

Paula McKay, Sister in the new High Dependency Unit at Daisy Hill Hospital and patient 

William Pullins with Dr Charles McAllister operating the Telepresence Robot from 

Craigavon Area Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit. 

Members of the Approved Social Worker Forum at the launch of their 

handbook. 


page 17



Could You Provide a Home for a Young Person? 

Fostering provides children who cannot live 

with their own families a loving, safe and 

stable home. This could be for a short time, 

or longer term until the young person reaches 

independence. 

There are over 300 children living with foster 

carers across the area, but we need to 

continually recruit a wide range of carers to meet 

the ongoing need. You can be a foster carer; 

whether you are married, single or cohabiting; 

rent or own your home; work or receive benefits. 

We are looking for ordinary people who can 

provide a loving home and support a young 

person who may have been through some 

difficult family circumstances. 

Foster carers receive ongoing training, 24 hour 

support and financial allowances to help them 

with their caring role. If you care about children, 

are interested in fostering and would like more 

information, you can contact your local Family 

Placement Team: 

Armagh and Dungannon T: 028 8775 2033 

Craigavon and Banbridge T: 028 3833 7181 

Newry and Mourne T: 028 3083 2693 

Freephone: T: 0800 0270137 

or visit www.fostering.hscni.net 

Throughout foster care fortnight in May foster carers and social workers 

from the Southern Trust took part in a regional novelty fire engine 

campaign to emphasise how a shortage of foster carers is reaching 

emergency levels. 

Trust Welcomes Ministerial Announcement at Banbridge Health Village 

Work is underway on the new Banbridge Health 

Village, £16 million investment to develop the 

town’s former hospital site. 

Mairead McAlinden, Chief Executive said: “The 

Trust is very grateful to the Minister for securing 

the funding to start this development this year. This 

means that within two years we will have a 21st 

century facility, with modern integrated ‘one stop’ 

services. This will complete the vision for the Health 

Village site, and I would like to thank Banbridge 

Council for their partnership and support in this 

venture.” 

“The Banbridge Community Care and Treatment 

Centre and Day Centre is the result of hard work 

by our staff and the commitment of public and 

community representatives to the provision of 

modern, accessible facilities, which are designed 

around our users and provide a hub for our services 

in the area.” 

“With the enabling works due to completed by the 

end of July 2012, we will anticipate the project will 

be completed by the end of 2014. We look forward 

to working in partnership with local people in 

developing the site and creating a fantastic facility 

that will benefit the whole community.” 

Banbridge Health Village, Artist’s Impression 

page 18 




World Mental Health Day 

Sixteen participants from a range of organisations and groups completed Mental Health First Aid 

training in the Newry area to coordinate with World Mental Health Day (10 October). The 12 hour 

training course was delivered over four evenings by staff from the Trust’s Promoting Wellbeing 

Team. 

Seamus McCabe from PIPS said: “We regularly see individuals who are experiencing difficulties within 

their lives that impact on their mental health and well being. It is great to be able to offer training to 

the local community so they can spot the signs that someone is in mental distress and link them with 

appropriate help. We would encourage anyone who gets the opportunity to avail of this training.” 

Deirdre McParland, Senior Health Promotion Officer 

for Mental Health, added: “One in four people will 

experience mental illness in their lives and the right 

training can help caregivers deal with many situations. 

Increasing public understanding of mental health, 

promoting positive self help strategies and raising 

awareness of the sources of help and support are 

priorities within the Trust and government. Mental 

Health First Aid is a programme that addresses 

these issues and also improves mental health literacy 

among participants.” 

Participants at the Mental Health First Aid training course 

Primary Mental Health Eating Disorder Service 

The eating disorder project is a part of the Co-operation and Working Together (CAWT) cross 

border initiative with funding from the European Union’s INTERREG IVA programme and will be 

available until October 2014. 

The project has provided three additional staff members who work specifically with patients with a mild 

to moderate eating disorder. Research shows the sooner a person receives treatment, the greater their 

chance of making a full recovery from their eating disorder. Early detection is likely to occur in primary 

care settings when eating disorder patients may present to GPs with physical complaints or concerns 

about weight loss. 

Treatment focuses on helping the individual to change some of their 

eating disorder thoughts and behaviours. The treatment provided is a 

cognitive behavioral approach which can help to change how a person 

thinks and what they do in order to improve their emotional health and 

wellbeing. 

Primary Mental Health Care Eating Disorder 

Practitioners (L-R) Esther Irwin, Marie Coyle 

and Debbie Proctor 

Specialist staff offer assessment and treatment with the aim 

of early identification and intervention in an attempt to prevent 

the person’s eating disorder becoming more severe. Staff work 

alongside the existing Trust Eating Disorder Service which 

provides treatment to individuals with more moderate to severe 

Eating Disorders. 

The Southern Trust sends less people to England for treatment than any 

other Trust. 


page 19



Wellness Recovery Action Plan 

Training 

Rona McBrierty, a peer support specialist and 

international Advanced WRAP Facilitator from 

Scotland, delivered a five-day programme in 

Mental Health Recovery training. An experienced 

trainer in mental health awareness, Rona says that 

everyone can recover from the challenges resulting 

from mental illness and that they can find purpose 

by taking responsibility for the decisions they make. 

Official Opening of 

Windsor Day Centre 

Health Minister Edwin Poots officially opened 

Windsor Day Centre, a purpose-built facility for 

39 adults with learning disabilities, in January. 

‘WRAP’ is Wellness Recovery Action Planning and 

it sets out ways to keep the individual well with or 

without the continuing presence of mental ill health. 

The five main areas of wellness are managing 

mental health, self belief, daily living skills, structure 

and activity, and taking power to ensure a holistic 

approach. 

Rona said: “Recovery focuses on a person’s right 

and ability to build a meaningful life for themselves 

and it is a unique and deeply personal process. 

By understanding and coping with their mental 

ill health, each individual can build strength and 

resourcefulness, establish supportive networks 

and pursue dreams and goals that are important 

to them. Recovery involves self management with 

the support of family, friends and statutory and 

voluntary mental health services.” 

Participants at the Training Session 

Micéal Crilly, Assistant Director of Disability Services; Carmel McGrath, 

Windsor Day Centre Manager; Mairead McAlinden, Trust Chief Executive; 

Edwin Poots MLA, Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety; 

Roberta Brownlee, Trust Chair; Francis Rice, Director of Mental Health 

and Disability Services; and Dessie Cunningham, Learning Disability 

Supported Living Services Manager. 

Mr Poots said: “Improving services for those with a 

learning disability has been one of my top priorities 

since I became Minister for Health. It has been 

my Department’s policy for a number of years 

to encourage and support people with learning 

disabilities to live in a community setting such as 

provided by Windsor Day Centre. The Centre not 

only offers a welcome and modern environment 

for users and staff in the new building, it also 

provides a range of activities which may lead to 

other opportunities for users, including workforce 

training.” 

Trust Chair Roberta Brownlee added: “I am 

delighted that service users were involved in the 

design of the Centre and a vital role in the planning 

process. This building provides state-of-the-art 

facilities and has brought day care on this site into 

the 21st Century. This amazing building will have a 

powerful impact on service users and staff creating 

the setting for many wonderful opportunities in the 

future.” 

page 20 


Providing Safe High Quality Care 


Trust Home Care Services 

The Trust’s Domiciliary Care Service provides approximately 50,000 episodes of care each week. 

During the year, three service user surveys were carried out in Armagh & Dungannon, Newry 

& Mourne, and Craigavon & Banbridge areas. These surveys have shown that Domiciliary Care 

Workers are respectful, courteous and helpful to service users and above all the service users are 

happy with the level of care being provided to them. 

76% Service users found it easy to access the service. 

93% Service users state the Domiciliary Care Workers communicate with them in a respectful way. 

93% Service users find the Domiciliary Care Service of a good standard. 

92% Service users are treated with dignity by all Domiciliary Care Staff. 

92.5% Domiciliary Care Staff understand the cultural and communication needs of the service user. 

The Domiciliary Care Service received a number of compliments including. 

• “Each member of staff was warm, caring, patient and 

brought comfort and joy each day. We firmly believe without their 

high level of excellent care our mum would not have lived so long.” 

• “My husband was sent home with terminal cancer and this was my 

first experience of carers and those ladies tended to him so well. 

They gave him a sense of dignity and wellbeing until he passed 

away. Thank you so much for this service, it was such a support 

in those difficult days.” 

• “My sister and I would like to thank the girls who were so kind 

attending to my mother during her short illness. The help and 

support to us was much appreciated.” 

• “No words of mine can adequately express how grateful we are 

for the help given to us. Without the help we would not have been 

able to fulfil his wishes to be at home.” 

Gary with his Domiciliary Care Worker, Wendy 

Introduction of Advanced Nurse Practitioners in GPOOH 

The Trust has recently recruited six Advanced 

Nurse Practitioners to its GP Out of Hours 

service. These nurses work in the GP Out of 

Hours service based in Daisy Hill Hospital and 

Craigavon Out of Hours centre at weekends. 

Angela McVeigh, Director of Older People and Primary 

Care explained “the Advanced Nurse Practitioners are 

highly skilled nurses who have completed advanced 

nursing education with training in health assessment, 

diagnosis, health promotion and disease prevention.” 

Angela added “The nurses have been working to 

Advanced Nurse Practitioner level in primary care 

or emergency departments and have undertaken 

additional training for this new role in the out of hours 

service.” 

The Advanced Nurse Practitioner can: 

• Take a comprehensive patient history 

• Carry out physical examinations 

• Use their expert knowledge and clinical judgement to 

identify possible diagnoses 

• Refer patients on for investigations as necessary 

• Make a final diagnosis 

• Decide on and carry out treatment 

• Refer to other services as appropriate 

• Work independently within the GP out of hours 

service 

• Make sure the patient’s treatment and care is based 

on best practice. 


page 21



Reablement 

Reablement is a new approach in homecare which is currently being developed in the Trust. It 

helps those individuals learn or re-gain the skills necessary for daily living which may have been 

lost through ill health or injury. 

It focuses on promoting people’s self-care skills and the confidence necessary for daily living. 

Reablement aims to help people “do things for themselves” rather than “having things done for them”. 

The service commenced in Lurgan 

in April 2011 and has extended to 

Portadown and Armagh. The service 

will be rolled out across the Trust over 

the next year. 

People can access Reablement if they 

live in the Southern Trust area and are 

over 65 years of age and need extra 

support because: 

• They are returning home after a 

period in hospital 

• They are frail and may need support 

to remain in their own home 

• They need to regain skills and 

confidence to live independently. 

Following assessment by the 

Occupational Therapist, Reablement 

involves setting and working towards 

specific goals between the service 

user and the Reablement team. The 

Reablement service will normally last 

between one day and up to four weeks 

but this will depend on the person’s 

individual circumstances. 

Marie McAlinden along with Tracy McGibbon, Reablement Support Worker 

To date 511 people have benefited from the service. The outcomes for service users has been very 

positive, with about 59% not requiring a package of care nor an increase to their existing package 

following reablement. 

Marie McAlinden, from Lurgan, who received the service following a fall said: “I was delighted to receive 

this new reablement service which helped me get back on my feet. It is great to have my independence 

back again.” 

For further information contact: 

E: reablement.service@southerntrust.hscni.net 

T: 028 3831 2851 

page 22 


Providing Safe High Quality Care 


Minister Congratulates Staff 

Health Minister, Edwin Poots congratulated the Trust at a special celebratory event in the Long 

Gallery at Parliament Buildings. He said: “These awards are testament to the Southern Trusts 

commitment to do things differently through innovation and enterprise. 

The Trust received first place in the Technology Section for its pioneering remote tele-monitoring work. The 

Minister said: “Tele-monitoring is a new and developing area of healthcare worldwide and this pragmatic 

approach where we are all learning as we go, makes it all the more impressive that a Northern Ireland 

project has won an award.” 

The Trust also achieved runners up in the Productive Series-International category for its ‘Releasing Time 

to Care’ initiative which looked at ways of improving patient experiences on busy hospital wards. The 

initiative has supported teams in many of our hospital wards to review their systems and processes to 

make a positive difference to patient care. Mrs McAlinden said: “The implementation of ‘Releasing Time 

to Care’ to over 60% of 

our wards and theatres 

has made cost savings 

by reducing waste, 

improving safety and 

increasing the time 

staff spend on direct 

patient care. I look 

forward to the further 

rollout of Releasing 

Time to Care to all our 

hospital wards and 

theatres. I would like 

to commend the staff 

involved in both these 

initiatives.” 

Staff and guests in Parliament 

Buildings 

Comments, compliments and user views 

The Trust is committed to providing high quality services to all of its users. You can help us 

improve our services by telling us about your experiences. Your views are much appreciated and will 

be treated in confidence. If you have a comment, compliment, suggestion or complaint about Trust 

services we want to hear from you. Contact our Central Reporting Point on: 

T: 028 3861 4150 or 

E: Centralpoint.ST@southerntrust.hscni.net 


page 23




The Choice Programme 

Help is now available for young people aged 

0-19 years and their families to manage their 

diabetes (Type 1) more effectively with the 

introduction of the CHOICE programme 

(carbohydrate and insulin collaborative 

education). The aim of the programme is to 

give children, young people and their families/ 

carers, the skills and knowledge they need to 

manage their diabetes and to reduce the impact 

of the condition on daily activities and lifestyle. 

The programme is delivered in small groups 

throughout the Trust area and involves three hour 

teaching sessions for four consecutive weeks. 

The CHOICE programme is delivered by a 

Diabetes Specialist Nurse and a Diabetes 

Specialist Dietitian. GPs will receive a letter when 

the young person with diabetes has completed 

the programme. 

Mother of Maeve, aged five years, who attended 

the programme said: “I 

would really recommend the 

CHOICE course to everyone. 

It has provided me with the 

tools and knowledge to 

allow my daughter to lead 

a much more normal life, 

to eat a much more varied 

diet and has improved her 

overall control. She is much 

happier and able to live like 

most other five year olds.” 

For further information on 

the CHOICE programme 

Maeve playing in her garden 

please contact: 

Pauline Ingram, Diabetes Specialist Nurse 

T: 028 3839 8238 

E: pauline.ingram@southerntrust.hscni.net 

OR 

Lorraine Bell, Diabetes Specialist Dietician 

T: 028 3861 2328 

E: lorraine.bell@southerntrust.hscni.net 

The CHOICE programme and the pregnancy care clinics 

were funded by the EU’s INTERREG IVA programme 

via Co-operation and Working Together (CAWT). 

Diabetes - 

Pre-pregnancy Care Clinic 

Pre-pregnancy Care Clinics are running in 

the Trust for women of child bearing age 

with Diabetes Type 1, Type 2 and those with 

previous Gestational Diabetes. The aim of this 

service is to support women with diabetes to 

plan their pregnancy and optimise blood glucose 

control prior to becoming pregnant, ensuring the 

best possible outcomes for both mother and 

baby. Patients attending this clinic will be seen 

by a Diabetes Specialist Nurse and Diabetes 

Specialist Dietician. 

In order to help promote the pre-pregnancy care 

clinic, leaflets and posters for the pre-pregnancy 

care clinic have now been sent to all GP Practices. 

For further information on the service and how to 

refer please contact: 

Clare Black, Diabetes Specialist Nurse 

T: 07525 896978 

E: clare.black@southerntrust.hscni.net 

OR 

Diane Cromwell, Diabetes Specialist Dietician 

T: 07525 298862 

E: diane.cromwell@southerntrust.hscni.net 

Insulin Pumps 

There are 73,500 people with diabetes in 

Northern Ireland. 

In January 2012, the Trust received funding to 

purchase 99 insulin pumps for children and 125 

insulin pumps for adults. The Trust received funding 

from Cooperation and Working Together (CAWT) 

a cross border project to purchase 27 pumps for 

children and a further 3 pumps for pre-pregnancy 

patients. The Trust will now be in a position to 

address the waiting times for people who require 

insulin pumps in a planned phased approach 

based on clinical need. 

page 24 





Resettlement from Long Stay Hospital 

During the year 22 learning disability patients from long stay hospitals were resettled to 

community settings. 

All patients resettled continue to be supported by a 

number of Trust services, for example Epilepsy Nurse 

Specialist, Forensic Service, Behaviour Support 

Service, Community Access, Occupational Therapy, 

Speech and Language Therapy and Day Opportunities. 

Support from an Independent Advocate has also proved 

beneficial to the patients. The advocate was involved 

throughout each patient’s resettlement and their 

needs, wishes, the choices available and requirements 

were recorded. Betterment questionnaires were 

undertaken before discharge and are reviewed at 12 

weeks post discharge and also at the annual review. 

The Trust is striving to meet targets set down by 

government for the closure of long stay hospitals by 

2015 and is currently on target. Patients’ individual 

assessed needs are paramount in this process and 

all placements to date prove betterment for the patient 

involved. 

Tenants and support workers at Ardaveen Manor. 

Patient Support Service Launched at Daisy Hill Hospital 

Being a patient, relative or carer can be worrying 

or confusing. Sometimes people need to turn 

to someone for help, advice or support. Patient 

Support can guide people through their options, 

working with them to try and sort out any worries or 

concerns they may have or seek answers to their 

queries. 

The Patient Support Office can be found on the 

corridor beside the shop in the main hospital foyer 

(first office on the left). You can contact: 

Edel Corr, Patient Support Manager 

OR 

Paula McAloran, Patient Support Officer 

T: 028 3083 5070 

E: patientsupport.dhh@southerntrust.hscni.net 

Dr Gillian Rankin, Director of Acute Services; Eileen Murray, 

Head of Service - Medicine and Unscheduled Care; and Paula 

McAloran, Patient Support Officer, Southern Health and Social 

Care Trust with patient Eileen Weir, Staff Nurse Caroline Sloane 

and Ward Manager Kay Donegan from the Renal Unit at Daisy 

Hill Hospital. 


page 25




Trust makes Movies for 

Mums To Be 

Two new short films showing tours of the 

Maternity Department at Craigavon and Daisy 

Hill Hospitals have been created for pregnant 

women to watch in antenatal class. 

The films are each about 10 minutes long, showing 

maternity facilities and highlighting what pregnant 

women can expect when they arrive in Craigavon 

or Newry for the birth of their baby. 

In each film, a pregnant woman is led on a tour 

of the facilities by a maternity staff member who 

begins with practical advice on where to go and 

what to do on arrival at the Maternity Department. 

The tour covers all the facilities an expectant mother 

might encounter including the Admission and 

Assessment Unit and Delivery Suite. The tour ends 

in the Postnatal ward where approximately 6,000 

new babies each year come to after being born in 

both Hospitals. 

Anne McVey, Southern Trust Assistant Director of 

Acute Services (Integrated Maternity & Women’s 

Health) explains: “Before we had this film, pregnant 

women and their partners came on group tours 

of the hospital maternity department organised 

as part of the Antenatal Education programme. 

However, bringing large groups of people on 

tours was becoming more challenging in our busy 

Departments as we have to protect the dignity and 

privacy of the women who are about to give birth 

here. Infection prevention is also a key priority for 

the Trust and the new film will reduce the risk of 

infection associated with large groups of people 

in one location. We are delighted to introduce this 

virtual alternative to our maternity tour and hope 

that pregnant women find it useful and interesting.” 

Both films are available on the Southern Trust 

website and can be viewed at 

www.southerntrust.hscni.net/services/1785.htm 

Supporting Mollie to Remain in 

the Community 

Mrs Mollie Maguire celebrated her 100th 

birthday in September surrounded by her 

family and friends. Mollie has been married to 

John for 62 years and they live in Oakleigh Fold 

Supported Housing in Lurgan. In addition to the 

support from John and her family, Mollie also 

receives support to continue to live in her local 

community from her GP, Dr Fred McSorley and 

from the Southern Trust’s Primary Care Services 

including domiciliary care support, district nursing 

and the specialist respiratory service. 

When asked what her secret was in reaching this 

wonderful milestone Mollie said “I have a great 

man who helps me a lot and we are very lucky 

to have each other. I really appreciate all the 

help I get from my GP Dr McSorley, all my home 

helps especially Patricia, the nurses Marguerite 

and Mary and also Marguerite O’Kane who visits 

often, does my hair and makes me look and feel 

10 years younger.” 

Angela McVeigh, Director of Older People and 

Primary Care with the Trust said “It was a privilege 

to meet Mollie at her 100th birthday celebrations 

and see how partnership working and primary 

care support can contribute to supporting people 

to continue living in their own community.” 

Front Row: Dr Fred McSorley; Mrs Mollie Maguire; Marguerite McAvoy, 

District Nursing Sister. Back Row: Marguerite O’Kane, Volunteer and friend; 

Mary McGrath, Community Respiratory Nurse Specialist; Patricia Sloan, 

Domiciliary Care worker; Angela McVeigh, Director of Older People and 

Primary Care and Mollie’s husband, John Maguire. 

page 26 





Volunteering 

For many people in our community sight loss 

is a daily reality but the support of volunteers 

can make a difference to the quality of the 

individual’s life. Rathfriland woman Madeline 

Maginn lost her sight at the age of 21 through 

Diabetic Retinopathy and Glaucoma. 

“At first I felt like my life as I had known it was 

over. I could not work out how I would be able 

to do all the things which 

up until then like everyone 

else I had taken for granted. 

Simple things like going to 

the shop or church or going 

to meet friends. But thank 

goodness I was blessed 

with a fantastic family and an 

amazing group of friends.” 

Madeline Maginn 

Volunteering to support individuals, or groups 

of people, who have a severe visual impairment 

is an excellent way of assisting other people to 

continue to play an active role in the community. 

The experience gained by the volunteer can 

be rewarding in so many ways, for example 

developing interpersonal skills while at the same 

time doing something which benefits others. 

Many of the groups supported by the Trust would 

not be viable without the dedicated volunteers 

who continue developing their own skills and 

expertise while helping others. Volunteering 

could involve shopping, assisting with exercise 

or a pastime or some other type of activity during 

the day, in the evenings or at weekends. 

For more information on volunteering, contact: 

Gerardette McVeigh, Volunteer Coordinator 

T: 028 3831 1484 

OR 

Imelda McPolin, Volunteer Coordinator 

T: 028 3083 4270 

OR 

Kate Johnston, Volunteer Coordinator 

T: 028 3752 0557 

Finding Your Feet Focus Day 

The RNIB Sensory Engagement Programme, 

supported by the Trust, hosted a special 

day for visually impaired people to focus on 

‘Finding Your Feet’. 

The Sensory Engagement Project has received 

funding of £1.86 million over three years by the 

EU’s INTERRREG IVA Programme, managed by 

the Special EU Programmes Body. 

The project draws upon the experience of 

RNIB, Action on Hearing Loss, National Council 

for the Blind of Ireland and DeafHear working 

in partnership with the Southern Trust. These 

organisations have extensive knowledge of sight 

and hearing impediments to improve access to 

services that people without a sensory impairment 

take for granted. Finding Your Feet helps individuals 

plan for the future and fulfil their dreams. 

Liz Tanner, Visual Disability Services Manager 

at the Trust, said, “The Sensory Engagement 

Project aims to improve engagement levels and 

confidence of people with sensory disabilities. The 

lives of around 300 people both north and south 

of the border with hearing and sight difficulties 

will be improved as a result of the exchange of 

expertise, information and best practice, and the 

training of sensory impairment staff.” 

Back Row: Colleen 

Copeland; Noleen 

Murphy, Volunteer; 

Danny McSherry, RNIB; 

Katrina Boyd-Haughey; 

Bernie Sloan; Lorraine 

McCadden, RNIB. 

Middle Row: Trevor 

Gibbs; Ann Devlin; Joan 

Treanor. Front Row: 

Margaret Fusco, RNIB; 

Lloyd Donaldson; Liz 

Tanner, Visual Disability 

Services Manager; and 

Mary McBride. 


page 27




Young People give the Low Down 

A group of young care leavers from the Southern Trust 

have produced a DVD to help support their peers. 

The 16 Plus Service User Group is a representative group 

for young people in care who share their views and are 

involved in decision making in relation to Looked After 

Children. The DVD aims to give young people who are 

moving into the 16+ service an understanding of what to 

expect. It will be used as a basis for learning on a range 

of issues including Education, Employment and Training, Accommodation, Health and Finance. 

The Group were Highly Commended in the 2011 Children’s Commissioner’s Participation Awards for 

the project. Some members have also registered as Trust Volunteers to become peer supporters for 

other young people as they move into the 16+ service. 

Celebrating the Successes of Young People 

The Trust’s annual awards event to celebrate the successes 

of young people in care took place in March. One hundred 

and ninety young people in foster and residential care were 

nominated and received awards for a range of achievements 

including; education, training, driving tests, Duke of Edinburgh, 

sports and arts. 

Congratulating all the young people, Chief Executive Mairead 

McAlinden said: “We know the many challenges that young 

people in care face and so it is important to celebrate when they 

overcome these challenges and achieve success. As parents 

we are proud when our children do well, and as corporate parents for the children in our care we 

in the Southern Trust are extremely proud of their achievements and it is right to celebrate them.” 

Photo: This year’s celebration and awards event for young people. 

Ceramic Artwork at Banbridge SEC 

Service users at Banbridge Social Education 

Centre have unveiled their latest art project at 

the facility. Jill McKeown, Artist-in-Residence with 

Craigavon and Banbridge Arts Care Committee, 

explained: “Service users and staff decided to 

make an artwork for the gable wall to provide a 

colourful backdrop to a new seating and relaxation 

area. They wanted this area to be bright and 

welcoming as it was a dull, exposed and very 

windy space’. 

“The groups discussed possible themes and 

because it was such a windy area they decided 

upon the idea of kites and balloons blowing in the 

wind, which provided the opportunity to use bright 

colours in the piece. The project involved the use 

of clay from its raw form, which was then moulded 

and drawn on to create the tiles for the finished 

piece. The initial tiles were dried, then ‘bisque 

fired’ and then returned to the group to paint 

with ceramic 

glazes before 

the final firing.” 

Members of the 

Artwork Group 

with Jill McKeown, 

Artist-in-Residence, 

and Margaret 

McShane, Manager of 

Banbridge SEC. 

page 28 





Trust achieves Success at ‘Lean Healthcare Academy’ Awards 

The Trust is delighted to have received a national award for the implementation of remote 

telemonitoring of patients with long term chronic conditions, beating stiff competition from 

across the UK. 

Mairead McAlinden, Chief Executive, 

congratulated all the staff involved: “I am 

delighted that the Southern Trust team 

has been recognised nationally as a 

pioneer in the implementation of remote 

telehealth. The Heart Failure, COPD, 

Stroke and Diabetes teams have shown 

real commitment and dedication to 

embracing new technology and new ways 

of working to improve the quality of care 

for their patients.” 

Over 670 people living within the Southern 

Trust area have benefited from telemonitoring 

to date. Forty four year old Waringstown 

resident Alan Cummings suffered a stroke 

in 2011 and had telemonitoring installed 

into his home during his recovery. Speaking 

about the benefits of the service Alan said: 

Christine Breen, Improvement Manager; Wendy Henning, COPD Specialist Physiotherapist; Carol 

Patton, Heart Failure Nurse Specialist, receiving the national award for telemonitoring from Bob 

Gomersall, Chairman Virtual College. 

“Telemonitoring has really helped me understand a lot more about my condition. Seeing it working 

every day, I now know what my readings should or shouldn’t be. My GP practice is 20 miles away 

and so it’s great being able to take my readings at home instead of going to the doctors all the time. 

I know I can take my readings at any time so it doesn’t restrict me in any way, I never feel rushed or 

pressured. My nurse checks my readings every week so I know someone is keeping an eye on me. 

Also when I visit my doctor for check-ups they look at my readings from the last four weeks and make 

decisions about my medications based on that. I feel it has helped speed up my recovery and get 

the right medications for me at the right time. I would definitely recommend it.” 

Creative Storytelling 

An exciting exhibition was launched by service users who attend the 

Orchard Day Centre, Newry. This Centre supports 30 older people and 

people with mental health difficulties to live in their local communities. 

With the support of staff and the volunteer team, service users were 

encouraged to develop as a creative group to produce some outstanding 

pieces of textile work as an innovative art project. Members of the group 

enjoyed sharing their work which was based on positive life experiences. 

Maureen Smith, Centre Manager said “No-one can underestimate the skill 

and efforts reflected in these unique and interesting visual stories.” 

Mary Fitzpatrick (top) and Patricia Courtney 

(bottom) with their artwork. 


page 29




‘Food for Thought’ Exhibition 

An art exhibition involving service users at 

St Luke’s Hospital, Appleby Social Education 

Centre, Station Road Resource Centre and 

Coalisland Day Centre took place at the Market 

Place Theatre in Armagh from 9 December to 

7 January. 

Over to You Scheme 

The Over to You scheme is an exercise-based 

programme for patients with a wide range of 

conditions. The programme is delivered through 

partnership working between the Southern Trust’s 

Outpatient Physiotherapy Service and the Leisure 

Services within the Newry & Mourne Council area. 

Eddie Rafferty, Arts Care artist-in-residence, 

explored the issues affecting users through 

reminiscence activities. The exhibition featured 70 

ceramics on the ‘food for thought’ theme depicting 

a cross section of life experiences and they were 

displayed in a novel way in the gallery. A number 

of users in Coalisland Day Centre produced 

paintings on old newspapers, drawing on their 

memories for inspiration. In addition, Vincent 

Roach displayed five large canvases of people at 

St Luke’s Hospital and places in Armagh. 

Bryce McMurray, Assistant Director of Mental Health 

Services at the Trust, said: “The work that Eddie 

has undertaken with the users at our day centres 

and hospitals is significant for each individual. Art 

is a wonderful way for service users to express 

themselves. The involvement of users with Arts 

Care contributes to the healing process through 

recovery and support, especially in compassionate 

and caring environments like those created by 

Eddie and staff in our day centres in the area.” 

Visitors at the opening night of the exhibition. 

Mr Lilley in the gym along with Sinead Brackenbury, Physiotherapist. 

Sinead Brackenbury, the Physiotherapist who 

manages the programme said: “Patients benefiting 

from the Over to You scheme are people with 

conditions including; chronic back pain, those 

recovering from fractures or joint injuries such as 

shoulder, hip or knee injuries. Other people who 

benefit include those who have had a stroke or 

a cardiac/ heart condition and for people with 

a mental health diagnoses. Referral onto the 

programme can be through the local GP, a range 

of Consultants and/or other Health Professionals 

including Physiotherapists, Social Workers or 

Nurse Specialists.” 

Mr Lilley, following heart surgery was referred 

to the Over to You scheme for the next phase 

of his rehabilitation. Mr Lilley talking about the 

scheme said: “The support I received from the 

Physiotherapist and Gym Instructor allowed me 

to exercise safely within my own limitations. After 

completing the eight week programme, I became a 

member of Newry Sports Centre and I now attend 

regularly to maintain my own health and fitness.” 

page 30 





Aughnacloy Day Opportunities Project 

The Trust is working in partnership with charity Alliance Youth Works 

for Environmental Education and local landowner Simon Bullock to 

provide adults with a learning disability in the Aughnacloy area with 

meaningful occupation. The day opportunities programme supports 200 

adults with a learning disability in recreational, vocational, volunteering 

and further education opportunities. 

Simon Bullock explained, “This property was purchased by my great 

grandfather and has been tended by our family for five generations. Our 

vision for the Annagh project is that it will provide accommodation for 

around 12 people and useful valuable occupation for many more. We’ve 

met a number of people involved in similar projects through Care Farming 

UK. We’ve visited the Irish Society of Autism project at Dunfirth Farm at 

Johnstown Bridge in north Kildare which has 70 acres and provides care to 46 people.” 

Local man Enda McKenna said: “I like coming to Peg’s Cottage and I’ve been helping to dig a flower bed 

so that we can get it ready for spring. We’re making bat and bird boxes so that bats and birds can come 

and live in the area. We also want to get a greenhouse to grow our own vegetables for the local market in 

Aughnacloy.” 

Giving Voice Exhibition 

Simon Bulloch with participants and 

support staff involved in the project. 

An exhibition of art work has found that speech 

and language therapy has a major role in the 

lives of people with a learning disability. 

Deirdre Blakely, Non Executive Director at the Trust, 

said: “The Adult Learning Disability Speech and 

Language Therapy Team ran an art competition 

during Learning Disability Week to find out about 

service users’ opinions on the benefits of Speech 

and Language Therapy. 

“Users believe Speech and Language Therapy 

helps them with all aspects of communication 

whether it is making information accessible, 

eating, drinking and swallowing, talking, signing, 

using communication aids and attending hearing 

screening clinics. Giving Voice has given voice to 

many users.” 

The competition coincided with the Royal College 

of Speech and Language Therapists ‘Giving Voice’ 

campaign which is demonstrating how Speech 

and Language Therapy makes a difference and 

is a vital service to a huge variety of people. 

Ryan Murray from Appleby Social Education Centre, winner 

in the Armagh and Dungannon area, with Deirdre Blakely, 

Non-Executive Director at the Trust, and Dessie Cunningham, 

Learning Disability Supported Living Services Manager. 

Newry and Mourne winner Antoinette Fitzpatrick 

from The Laurels. 

John Faulkner, winner in the Craigavon and Banbridge 

category, from Bannvale Social Education Centre with Deirdre 

Blakely and Dessie Cunningham. 


page 31


Being a good social partner in our communities 

Travelwise Week and the 

Workplace Travel Plan 

Transport Minister Danny Kennedy chose 

the Southern Trust to launch Northern 

Ireland Travelwise Week (16-22 September). 

Speaking at the launch of Travelwise Week and 

the Trust’s Workplace Travel Plan, the Minister 

said that Travelwise Week was being hosted 

in support of European Mobility Week. The 

focus of the week was on the health benefits 

of sustainable travel as a means of contributing 

to a fitter and healthier lifestyle for all. 

Heather Glendinning, a Nursing Auxiliary at South 

Tyrone Hospital, is one staff member who has 

benefitted from the cycle to work scheme. “I ride 

from Stewartstown to Dungannon each day to 

my work between April and September, which 

is a round trip of 16 miles. Cycling to work 

means I get plenty of fresh air, have no need 

for fake tan and I save petrol! I truly love riding 

my bike, bought on the Cycle to Work Scheme 

in 2010. I began with short journeys and have 

built it up over time. I’d like to ask all drivers to 

give cyclists more consideration on the road 

so as to make cycling safer, and so encourage 

more cyclists out onto the road. The benefits 

are huge, so happy cycling, everyone!” 

Trust in Community 

Through ‘Trust in Community’ we are 

working in partnership with local community 

and voluntary organisations to address 

disadvantage. 

One Trust in Community success story this 

year was a project targeted at young people in 

partnership with LIVE UnLtd. 

This was a competition open to young people 

from rural communities to come up with projects 

targeted at their peer groups. 

A number of grants ranging from £500 to £3,000 

were awarded to successful candidates as Paul 

Morgan, Director of Children and Young People, 

explains: “Trust in Community’ aims to pool 

resources of the Trust and its partners to meet 

the needs of people in the community. Through 

this project small pots of money are enabling 

focused projects to be delivered for young people, 

by young people, which are addressing health 

and wellbeing issues and building community 

relations.” 

Along with the grant, all award winners took part 

in a planning session to kick start their projects 

and Live UnLtd is providing an ongoing package 

of advice, training, mentoring and personal 

development support to ensure the success of 

their projects. 

Roberta Gives the Gift of Life 

Following a Public Health Agency appeal, Trust 

Chair, Roberta Brownlee signed the organ 

donation register this year. 

Around 300 people in Northern Ireland are 

currently waiting for an organ transplant and 

nationally, three people die every day whilst 

waiting for a transplant. Roberta is encouraging 

her health service colleagues to sign up. 

Heather Glendinning 

Organ donation saves and enhances lives. To join 

the NHS Organ Donor Register and give the gift 

of life, log on to www.organdonation.nhs.uk or 

call 0300 123 123 or text ‘save’ to 84118. 

page 32 




New Hospital Information Booklet Launched 

Dr Gillian Rankin launches new Hospital 

Information Booklet 

A stay in hospital is about to get a little bit easier for local patients 

following the launch of a Hospital Information Booklet by the 

Southern Trust. The short booklet tells people about important 

things they need to know before they come for a stay in Craigavon 

Area Hospital or Daisy Hill Hospital. 

Dr Gillian Rankin, Southern Trust, Director of Acute Services welcomed 

the new booklet saying: “I am delighted that we now have a booklet 

which provides patients with information they need to know before 

coming into hospital for a stay. The booklet begins with simple advice 

on preparing for a stay in our hospitals such as information on what 

patients should and should not bring with them into Hospital. The 

booklet then moves on to offer practical advice on everything from car 

parking, meal times, visiting times and anything else they might need 

to know during their stay at Craigavon Area or Daisy Hill Hospital. I 

really hope that people find it useful and easy to use.” 

The booklet is available on the Trust website: www.southerntrust.hscni.net under Our Services 

and this information is included in letters sent to patients being admitted to Hospitals (with hard 

copies made available, where required). 

Launch of new Luncheon Club in Middletown, Co. Armagh 

Around 423 older people attend 34 luncheon 

clubs in the Southern area. The Trust is grateful 

to the 59 registered volunteers who provide 

invaluable support to run these groups. 

Older people in the Middletown area will now 

also benefit from a new luncheon club through an 

initiative of the Co-operation and Working Together 

(CAWT) Older People’s Project. 

Melanie McClements, Assistant Director of 

Promoting Wellbeing said: “Through the CAWT 

Older People’s Project, the Southern Trust is 

delighted to be involved in supporting older 

people in border communities to have greater 

access to social support. With a small amount of 

EU financial support and a lot of good will and 

volunteer assistance in the Middletown area, older 

people will soon be accessing this new service. 

We hope that the luncheon club goes from strength 

to strength, improving quality of life and health and 

wellbeing for older people.” 

Welcoming the decision of the Southern Trust, in 

collaboration with CAWT to award funding for this 

two-year project, Chairman of Middletown and 

District Community Development Association, 

Gerard Mallon said: “This initiative will enable older 

people in the district to maintain independence 

and improve wellbeing. We are grateful to the team 

working with CAWT and the Southern Trust for their 

help and support with this project. We hope the 

luncheon club will help to reduce social isolation 

and improve the nutrition of older people in rural 

communities. We also hope that it will contribute to 

bringing together, people from both communities and 

strengthen links with our cross-border neighbours. 

Volunteering is an important aspect of this project 

and the association will shortly be seeking volunteers 

to help run the luncheon club which will be located 

in the Middletown Markethouse.” 

For further information please contact: 

Brenda Toal, CAWT Older People’s Project Worker 

T: 028 3741 2767 OR 

E: Brenda.toal@southerntrust.hscni.net 


page 33



Chief Executive Encourages 

Blood Donation 

Pink Day 

Trust Chief Executive Mairead McAlinden is 

encouraging people to become blood donors. 

Giving blood for the first time in February this year, 

Mairead said: “I’ve always meant to get round to 

donating blood and made it one of my new year’s 

resolutions this year. When I heard about the recent 

shortage of blood stocks, it made me even more 

determined to make time to do it. Giving blood is vitally 

important for proper delivery of health care, and it was 

very quick, easy and convenient to do.” 

For further information or to register: 

T: 0500 534 66 W: www.nibts.org OR 

Enrol by texting the word ‘blood’ to 60081. 

Long-Serving Volunteers Recognised 

The Acute Booking Centre organised a Pink Day on 21 October to raise money 

for Breast Cancer. An amazing £850 was raised by having a raffle and a coffee 

morning for colleagues. Several local businesses also made donations. 

The Trust held a ‘Volunteer Recognition Event’ 

to acknowledge and celebrate the valuable 

contribution that its long serving volunteers 

make to the organisation and the wider 

community. The special “tea with the Chair“ 

event provided an opportunity to thank these 

volunteers for their valued time and commitment. As a 

mark of appreciation, the volunteers were presented 

with a certificate and gift. 

Roberta Brownlee, Chair of the Trust thanked 

the volunteers and said, “It is a privilege for me 

to acknowledge the tremendous contribution our 

dedicated volunteers make to the health and social 

care needs of people living in this area.” 

Mrs Brownlee also applauded the long serving 

volunteers for their commitment and commended 

them for the selfless manner in which they give of their 

time and talents to enhance the quality of life of others. 

The Trust plans to host an annual recognition event for 

its volunteers. Melanie McClements Assistant Director 

of Promoting Wellbeing, commended the volunteers 

and said, “There are over 500 Volunteers working 

with the Southern Trust and we greatly appreciate the 

work they do. Your kindness and generosity of time 

has touched hundreds of people and has made a real 

difference to their lives.” 

Trust Volunteers come from all walks of life and provide 

a high quality service throughout the Trust. Staff value 

the contribution provided by volunteers who use their 

wide range of skills, knowledge and experience to 

provide a unique caring environment for all.. 

If you are interested in finding out more about 

volunteering opportunities throughout the Southern 

Trust, please contact: 

Craigavon & Banbridge 

Gerardette McVeigh, Volunteer Coordinator 

T: 028 3831 1484 

E: gerardette.mcveigh@southerntrust.hscni.net 

Armagh & Dungannon 

Kate Johnston, Volunteer Coordinator 

T: 028 3752 0557 

E: kate.johnston@southerntrust.hscni.net 

Newry & Mourne 

Imelda McPolin, Volunteer Coordinator 

T: 028 3083 4270 

E: imelda.mcpolin@southerntrust.hscni.net 

Back Row: Melanie McClements, Assistant Director for Promoting Wellbeing; Roberta Brownlee, 

Chairperson; Eileen Kerr, Volunteer; Gerardette McVeigh, Volunteer Coordinator; Beatrice Carson, 

Volunteer; Anne Herdman, Volunteer; Angela McVeigh, Director of Older People & Primary Care. 

Front Row: Madaleine McCrink, Volunteer Coordinator; Patricia McCann, Volunteer; Gerard Hanna, 

Volunteer and Orla Clarke, Administrator. 

page 34 




Celebrating the Physical Disability Community Access Service 

A celebration of the Physical Disability Community Access Service was organised by the Trust 

to mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities. 

Assistant Director of Disability Services Micéal Crilly said: “Persons with disabilities make up an estimated 

15 per cent of the Southern Trust population and bringing their activities into the mainstream is one of 

our priorities. Experience shows that when persons with disabilities are empowered to participate their 

involvement creates opportunities for the individual and the entire community benefits. Our Community 

Access Officers identify the interests a person with a disability has 

and how these can be fulfilled through participation in a range of 

community activities.” 

The Physical Disability Community Access 

Service celebratory event 

Newry woman Gemma Brolly said: “Community Access is really making 

a difference to my life. I have learnt new skills that have enhanced my 

life and which I use in my personal, voluntary and working life. The 

programme has, to an extent, thwarted the deterioration of my health 

as I’ve been stimulated to attend the programme which I found to be 

flexible and tailor made to meet my needs.” 

Award in Community Development 

A young Armagh man with a learning disability 

completed a community development course 

and attended a certificate presentation at 

Armagh City and District Council Offices. 

Peter McKeown, who lives in the Ballyhonemore 

Road area of the city, has joined a newly established 

community group for East Armagh as a result 

of studying with Reconciliation Education and 

Community Training. 

Peter lives independently but was very keen to get 

involved in local activities in his community. The 

six-week programme Open College Network Level 

1 Course in Community Development, hosted by 

Reconciliation Education And Community Training, 

provided Peter with a range of information about 

the contribution individuals can make to community. 

Peter said: “I enjoy going to the meetings to find 

out what is happening 

in my local area and 

get involved in events. 

I’ve been helping the 

group to put together 

and distribute the first 

newsletter and a cleanup 

of the area.” 

Eileen Canavan, Community Access Officer at the Trust; Peter McKeown; Cllr Freda Donnelly, Mayor 

of Armagh City and District Council; and Anne McCusker, Community Development Officer at REACT. 

SafeTALK Seminar 

Armagh City and District Council hosted a 

training programme that prepares helpers to 

identify persons with thoughts of suicide and 

connect them to services. 

The SafeTALK Seminar was attended by staff 

members from Armagh City & District Council and 

Dungannon & South Tyrone District Council and an 

elected representative. 

Facilitator Roisin Tallon of Action Mental Health 

MensSana project said, “This seminar is suicide 

alertness for everyone. The three-hour programme 

helps those attending to identify people who have 

thoughts of suicide, to apply the TALK steps, namely 

Tell, Ask, Listen and Keep safe, and to connect a 

person with thoughts of suicide to services that can 

offer support. Talking about suicide is an important 

first step to encourage others to seek support.” 

Cllr Joy Rollston (front row, 

second from left) with staff 

from Armagh City and District 

Council and Dungannon & 

South Tyrone Borough Council 

who recently attended SafeTALK 

training. Also included are 

facilitator Roisin Tallon and 

Southern Area Protect Life 

Coordinator Nuala Quinn. 


page 35


Making the Best Use of Resources 

Taking Actions to Reduce the Number of Wasted Appointments 

In 2010, more than 40,000 

Outpatient appointments were 

wasted in the Southern Trust 

because patients did not attend 

(11.8% of total). The cost of 

each appointment is estimated 

to be £100 which means that £4 

million could have been wasted 

in 2010 alone. 

In December 2011 the Southern 

Trust launched a Don’t Waste 

Your Space communication 

campaign aimed at raising 

awareness of the scale and 

impact of wasted appointments. 

100,000 flyers were printed and 

distributed across the entire 

Trust area. Leaflets and posters 

were distributed to a wide range 

of Trust facilities including Outpatient Clinics/ 

Hospitals, local GP surgeries, local Councils and 

leisure centres. 

Every MP, MLA and Councillor was sent a briefing 

paper informing them of the scale of the wasted 

appointments issue and providing them with details 

on the campaign well in advance of the launch. 

The Trust’s Chief Executive brought the issue up in 

meetings with local Councils and political parties. 

The campaign has been a great success, winning 

a Special Recognition Award at the Craigavon 

Business Awards in May for raising awareness of 

this important issue. 

Figures recently released by the Department of 

Health have confirmed that the Southern Trust has 

the lowest percentage of patients not attending 

outpatient appointments, when compared to other 

Trusts in Northern Ireland. 

These figures can be greatly attributed to the work of 

the centralised Referral and Booking Centre which 

now offers greater flexibility for patients in choosing 

the most suitable date, time and sometimes location 

for appointments. Patients are sent a letter asking 

them to phone to make their appointment and to 

make this service more accessible, the Booking 

Centre has extended opening hours (from 8am – 

8pm Monday to Friday and 9am 

– 1pm Saturday). They are also 

significantly minimising waste 

of outpatient appointments 

by offering all cancellations, 

including those which are short 

notice to other patients. 

In an effort to further reduce 

DNAs, in January 2012 the 

Booking Centre began a text 

reminder pilot where patients 

are asked to contact the Booking 

Centre if they cannot attend 

scheduled appointments. This 

trial has proved successful and is 

being extended throughout more 

specialties in the coming months. 

Don’t Waste Your Space Campaign Flyer 

Estate Rationalisation 

Over the past year, the Trust has been 

streamlining and improving the use of its 

accommodation. We have ceased leases on 

a number of rented properties and are moving 

more services into Trust owned premises. 

Under this project we are improving 

accommodation in the Psychiatric Intensive Care 

Unit (PICU) and are centralising health records 

storage to save costs on external storage. 

In Armagh we have developed enhanced facilities 

for Children and Young People’s services, 

enabling reduced lease costs and disposal of 

surplus property by moving from Gosford Place 

and Dobbin Street. 

Over 200 staff including clinical teams, estate 

services, planning, porters and transport 

have worked through these moves with 

minimal disruption to patients and clients. 

A similar project is now underway in Newry. 

It is expected that Estate Rationalisation when 

fully completed will save the Trust approximately 

£350,000 each year. 

page 36 




New Hospital Signs Spell Out Role of Emergency Departments 

In November, Minister for Health, Mr Edwin Poots, 

unveiled new ‘Emergency Department’ signs 

at Craigavon Area in a drive to raise awareness 

that Hospital emergency departments are only 

for people who need immediate treatment. 

New signs went up at Craigavon Area Hospital 

and Daisy Hill Hospital in response to the high 

numbers of people attending its Emergency 

Departments who do not require urgent treatment. 

Mr Poots said: “I think that people do need to 

reflect on their use of emergency departments 

in hospitals and I hope that this new signage will 

remind people that they should only come here 

if they need emergency treatment. The public 

can play a significant role in helping to ease the 

burden on busy emergency departments.” 

The Emergency Department at Craigavon treats 

over 77,000 people and Daisy Hill, over 36,000 

each year. However an audit in 2011 showed 

that around a third of those who came to the 

Departments did not require this specialist care 

and could have been appropriately treated by 

their GP or other community services. 

Mr Seamus O’Reilly, Clinical Director for 

Emergency Medicine explains: “Staff in 

Emergency Departments are there to provide 

specialised treatment for people who are seriously 

ill or injured and need to be treated urgently. Too 

often, we find our time and resources taken up 

by people whose ailments are neither serious 

nor urgent. We hope that by emphasising the 

Emergency nature of the treatment provided, it 

might prompt more people with non-urgent/minor 

ailments to ask themselves if they really need to 

come here. Our aim is to provide the quickest and 

most effective emergency treatment to those who 

need it most. GPs (or GP Out of Hours), Minor 

Injuries Units and local pharmacists all provide 

non-emergency treatment in the community and 

I would urge people, where appropriate, to use 

those services instead.” 

Minister Poots launches new Emergency Department signs at Craigavon Area Hospital ,also 

pictured from the Southern Health and Social Care Trust: (L-R) Mrs Elizabeth Mahood, Non- 

Executive Director, Dr Gillian Rankin, Director of Acute Services, Mrs Mairead McAlinden, 

Chief Executive and Mr Seamus O’Reilly, Clinical Director for Emergency Medicine at 

Craigavon Area Hospital Emergency Department. 

Minor Injuries Unit 

at South Tyrone 

Hospital 

Opening Hours: 

from 1 October 2012 

Cut out and keep 

The Minor Injuries Unit 

is open 7 days a week; 

from 9am to 9pm Monday to Friday 

and 10am to 6pm Saturday to 

Sunday. 

The dedicated telephone advice line 

is available by calling: 

028 8771 3599. 

Cut out and keep 


page 37



Improvements in Outpatient Services 

Outpatient services at Craigavon Area Hospital 

have been moved to an improved location 

at Ward 1 in The Ramone Building. The move 

has created additional examination/consultation 

rooms and better facilities for patients. 

A new state-of-the-art ‘Trauma & Orthopaedic 

Outpatients Clinic’ has been developed in the 

old Outpatient Department and includes an 

X-Ray room, a plaster room, consultation rooms, 

examination rooms, offices and other patient 

treatment facilities. 

The former Maternity and Gynae Outpatients 

Department at Daisy Hill has undergone a 

£500,000 renovation to become part of the 

General Outpatients service. 

The new Outpatient consulting rooms are now 

providing the specialised environment needed for 

comprehensive ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) and 

Audiology Assessment and includes a new sound 

booth. It is also now housing two permanent 

clinical rooms for Pre-Operative Assessment and 

there are an additional two consulting rooms 

providing much needed clinical accommodation. 

Sr Marilyn Mulligan, Outpatients Manager with Minister Edwin Poots in one of the audiology 

rooms in the new outpatients department at Daisy Hill Hospital. 

Dr Gillian Rankin, Director of Acute Services 

says: “The number of outpatients attending our 

hospitals has been steadily increasing over the 

past number of years, so there was a real need to 

improve the accommodation to meet this growing 

demand. We are delighted to be able to upgrade 

the accommodation and provide much more 

patient friendly facilities.” 

Mournes Resource Centre 

Mournes Resource Centre, the Trust’s 

mental health resource centre for Newry and 

Mourne, relocated to Dromalane Road in 

Newry after 20 years at Daisy Hill Hospital. 

At an open day for clients and visitors, Chief 

Executive Mairead McAlinden said: “In speaking 

with people who use this Centre, I have heard 

about the great work of the team who work here, 

how they are making a difference to people’s 

lives and how they are helping people to better 

manage their condition.” 

The way the Trust delivers mental health 

services and care has changed enormously 

over a number of years, with an increased focus 

on providing services to intervene as early as 

possible, to focus on support and recovery 

and keep people out of hospital by providing 

the right services as close as possible to 

local communities. These developments, as 

part of the Trust’s ‘Change in Mind’ strategy 

for mental health services, means there is an 

increased need for groupwork, counselling and 

therapeutic activities. 

Mournes Resource Centre Staff 

page 38 



Supporting people and communities to live healthy 

lives and improve their health and wellbeing 

Roots of Empathy 

Fifteen Schools in the Trust area are taking part 

in an innovative programme aimed at promoting 

social and emotional understanding. 

The ‘Roots of Empathy’ programme, was 

developed in Canada and centres around a parent 

and baby who visit the classroom throughout the 

year. Through an instructor, children observe 

the relationship between the baby and parent, 

following the baby’s development and celebrating 

milestones. The children are encouraged to learn 

and understand the baby’s perspective and 

reflect on their own feelings and those of others. 

Aimed at Year 5 pupils, the programme helps 

young people to understand the world from a 

different point of view, helping them to become 

more caring and reduces levels of bullying and 

aggression. 

The programme in Northern Ireland is supported 

and funded by the Public Health Agency and 

coordinated between Health and Social Care 

Trusts and Education and Library Boards in 

local areas. 

Patrick Kerr, St John’s Primary School Middletown with Liliya Mallon 

and baby Aiobheann who take part in the Roots of Empathy Programme. 

Family Nurse Partnership 

The Trust is delighted to have been selected as a pilot site for the Family Nurse Partnership project 

in Northern Ireland. 

Family Nurse Partnership is a preventive programme for vulnerable first time young mothers. It offers 

intensive and structured home visiting, delivered by specially trained nurses, from early pregnancy until 

the child is two. The programme which was developed in the United States is currently being tested 

across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. 

This programme is supported by the Department of Health Social Services and Public Safety and the 

Public Health Agency. 

Family Support Hubs 

The Trust in consultation with the voluntary and 

community sector has established three Family 

Support Hubs across the area. 

The Hubs aim to provide families and children 

with effective support services at the earliest 

opportunity and prevent the need for a referral to 

statutory social work services. 

There is a Hub for each locality; Armagh and 

Dungannon; Newry and Mourne; and Craigavon 

and Banbridge, which meets on a monthly basis 

to discuss the needs of referrals. Referrals can be 

made with the consent of the parent by any agency 

or professional who believes that the family would 

benefit from a the service preventative support 

service. 

For further information or to make a referral 

contact: 

Carol Morgan 

T: 028 3741 5285 or Freephone: 0800 783 7745 

E: carol.morgan@southerntrust.hscni.net 


page 39




Watching Your Weight 

in Pregnancy 

Mums-to-be in the Southern Trust area are 

learning how to manage their weight thanks to a 

new project. 

The ‘Watching your Weight in Pregnancy’ project 

began in December 2011 with funding support from 

the Public Health Agency and aims to address the 

rising levels of obesity and the impact this is having 

on health in pregnancy and birth. 

The project aims to increase access to information 

for pregnant women with a raised Body Mass Index 

(BMI) about managing weight gain in pregnancy. 

As part of the project, a total of 10 midwives from 

across the Trust have been given training in healthy 

eating and exercise in pregnancy. 

Two pilot programmes for antenatal women and post 

natal women are underway in the Kilkeel area to help 

a group of women to manage their weight effectively. 

Evaluation and learning from the pilot programme will 

inform future development of support for pregnant 

women and possibly extension of group support, 

subject to future funding from the PHA. 

Patricia McStay, Southern Trust Head of Midwifery 

explained why there was a need for this project: 

“We are seeing increasing numbers of women who 

are overweight or obese at their first contact with 

the Midwife. We want to support these women to 

manage their weight gain in pregnancy to reduce 

the risk of experiencing health complications such 

as high blood pressure, and diabetes in pregnancy.” 

Angela McComb PHA said: “The PHA recognises 

that there are many health risks for women who are 

obese in their pregnancy. We welcome this project 

and the opportunity to share the learning with other 

Trusts about effective approaches to supporting 

pregnant women to manage their weight.” 

Women taking part 

in the watching your 

weight in pregnancy 

programme. 

Keep Smoke Out of Hospitals 

The Southern Trust 

has appealed for 

people to help 

to keep hospital 

buildings smoke 

free and a smoke 

free zone of 10 

metres has been 

implemented 

around Craigavon 

and Daisy Hill 

hospital buildings. 

Back row: Nikki Cinnamond, Trust Smoking cessation specialist, Anne 

Smyth, Trust Domestic Services, Dr Gillian Rankin, Director of Acute 

Services, Edel Corr, Patient Support Manager, Lynne Smart, Promoting 

Wellbeing Lead for Acute Services. Front Row: Doreen Calvert and 

Elizabeth Johnston – ‘Here to Help’ Volunteers 

Smoking close to hospital doors and windows, 

causes smoke to enter the hospital, potentially 

affecting the health of patients, visitors and staff. 

The Trust used No Smoking Day in March to 

raise awareness of the smoke free zone around 

the hospital buildings and to promote uptake 

of smoking cessation support services. As Dr 

Gillian Rankin, Trust Director of Acute Services 

explains: “We are reminding patients and 

visitors to Craigavon and Daisy Hill Hospitals 

that smoking near doors and windows causes 

smoke to drift into areas of the hospital used 

for patient care and by staff. No Smoking Day 

is an ideal time to highlight this issue and to 

ask for cooperation to prevent this problem 

from occurring in the future.” 

Dr Rankin added: “There is extensive signage 

around Craigavon and Daisy Hill hospital sites 

advising that there is no smoking permitted 

within 10 metres of hospital entrances and for 

people to use designated smoking shelters and 

bins where provided. The health and wellbeing 

of patients, visitors and staff is our absolute 

priority and I believe we can successfully tackle 

this problem if smokers are able to make this 

small change for the benefit of everyone.” 

page 40 





New Breastfeeding Room in 

Daisy Hill Hospital 

Danielle Quinn and her Daughter Ava with Brenda Kelly, Lead Midwife 

Southern Trust, Janet Calvert, Public Health Agency and Sister Joanne 

McGlade, Southern Trust in the new breastfeeding room in Daisy Hill 

Hospital. 

Mellow Parenting and 

Mellow Babies 

The Trust has introduced the Mellow 

Parenting Programme this year. Mellow 

Parenting is designed to support families 

who are experiencing relationship 

problems with their young children and 

have additional health and social care 

needs. 

The fourteen week programme helps to build 

more positive parent-child relationships, 

improve the wellbeing of mothers and child 

behaviour and development. The Trust is also 

offering the Mellow Babies programme which 

is aimed at mothers of babies up to one year 

old. 

If you think you need this extra parenting 

support, please speak to your Health Visitor 

or Social Worker who can refer you to the 

Mellow Parenting Programme. 

‘Just Ask’ for Emotional 

and Mental Health Support 

The Trust is encouraging young people with 

mental wellbeing or emotional problems to ‘Just 

Ask’ for support. 

The Tier 2 Child and Adolescent Mental Health 

Service team known as ‘Just Ask’ provides mental 

health services in the community for young people 

up to the age of 18 and their families. 

The service recognizes that growing up, at times 

can be stressful and challenging and can help 

young people to cope with their feelings, thoughts 

and behaviours through individual and family 

counselling or therapy. 

Young people can be referred to the service for 

a range of mild or moderate mental health and 

emotional difficulties for example; relating to family 

issues; self-esteem, mood or anxiety problems; 

phobias, obsessional or compulsive difficulties. 

Referrals can be made by teachers or a number 

of health professionals including GPs, Social 

Workers, Health Visitors or Paediatrician. For further 

information contact your local clinic: 

Portadown T: 028 3839 7337 

Newry T: 028 3083 5400 

Dungannon T: 028 8771 3486 

Raising the Alarm 

In partnership with its Taske Project, the Trust is 

giving carbon monoxide (CO) alarms to young 

carer leavers. Taske is a personal development 

programme for young care experienced adults to 

help them to gain skills and experience to increase 

their chances of 

employment and 

training and to live 

independently. 

Roisin McAliskey, Taske Project Worker, 

Nina Daly, Accident Prevention Officer 

with Amy McShane and Michael 

Jamison, both from the 16plus Service 

User Group who received carbon 

monoxide alarms. 


page 41




Useful Guide for Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing 

A new guide of contacts for mental and 

emotional wellbeing in the Southern Trust 

area was published in 2011. 

Francis Rice, Director of Mental Health and 

Disability Services at the Trust, said: “This guide 

contains 200 telephone numbers of statutory, 

community and voluntary organisations which 

offer support, counselling or advice on a 

range of issues. The telephone numbers have 

been classified under 21 categories including 

relationships, bereavement, abuse, addiction, 

benefits advice, and suicide and self harm 

prevention.” 

The Protect Life Strategy is the Government’s 

suicide and self harm prevention plan and 

involves all Departments at the Assembly, and 

a range of community and voluntary groups. 

The guide complements the other Protect Life 

information available to the general public. The 

campaign includes bus shelter, television and 

radio advertisements directing those in distress 

or despair to the 

Lifeline Helpline: 

T: 0808 808 8000. 

There are six walkin 

resource centres: 

Banbridge; Kilkeel; 

Dungannon; Newry; 

Lurgan; Portadown. 

Each centre can 

signpost individuals 

to self-help guides 

and information 

resources. 

Useful Contacts Resource 

Don’t Let Debt Depress You 

Debt can lead to mental illness and mental illness can lead to debt, creating a vicious cycle. 

Dr Liz McMonagle, Consultant Clinical Psychologist in Adult Mental Health at Daisy Hill Hospital, 

explains, “There is a clear link between debt, worry and mental health problems. The psychological 

states associated with debt and gambling can cause a range of difficulties: relationships can break 

down and shame, depression, anxiety, alcohol abuse, drug misuse and suicidal states of mind can 

feel utterly disabling. It is important that you get advice and support as soon as you find yourself in a 

debt problem. It is never ever too late to seek help and advice.” 

The Trust supports the funding of Advice Services across the Trust area including 

Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB). We also support the funding of Lurgan 

Independent Advice and Information service. These services offer advice 

on a range of issues including benefit entitlement, health and social care 

services, housing, employment, debt, and money management: 

Armagh District CAB T: 028 3752 8357 Banbridge District CAB T: 028 4062 4175 

Craigavon District CAB T: 028 3839 5051 Dungannon & South Tyrone District CAB T: 028 8775 3044 

Lurgan LIASE T: 028 3832 5764 Newry & Mourne District CAB T: 028 3026 9224 

CAB outreach services are currently provided at Bluestone Unit, Craigavon Area Hospital, on Tuesday 

afternoon; at Daisy Hill Hospital, funded by the Public Health Agency; and at the Mandeville Unit, Craigavon 

Area Hospital, funded by Macmillan Cancer Support. The Financial Wellbeing Guide on the Trust website 

lists other services offering advice and help. 

page 42 





Taking Care of Your Health in Tough Economic Times 

At least one in five of us will suffer from a mental 

health problem at some stage in our lives and the 

current economic situation that we face places 

extra pressure on individuals and families. 

In recognition of these difficulties the Trust, the 

Department for Employment and Learning and 

the Public Health Agency have developed a leaflet 

which highlights positive ways to help individuals 

cope during challenging times. 

In addition, the Jobs & Benefits office in Armagh 

in partnership with the Trust’s Promoting Wellbeing 

Team hosted a Mental Health and Wellbeing week 

from 9th -13th January 2012. Melanie McClements 

Assistant Director of Promoting Wellbeing said “The 

aim of this initiative is to raise awareness among 

individuals of their mental health needs and to 

highlight the many services locally that are available 

to support those who are feeling overwhelmed by 

the impact of job loss both financially and mentally.” 

Front Row: Seamus McGuigan and Edel Crawley, Pathways to Work Team 

Back Row: Deirdre McParland, Promoting Wellbeing Team; Mark McBride, 

Public Health Agency; Breige McCabe and Paul Caldwell, Pathways 

to Work Team; Aodan Cunningham, Manager, Jobs & Benefits Office, 

Armagh; Rosemary Daly Promoting Wellbeing Team. 

Benburb Walled Garden Restoration 

The Trust is working in partnership with Benburb Priory 

on an ambitious project to restore the historic Walled 

Garden and Victorian Greenhouse. 

As part of phase one, eight adults with a learning disability 

are working under the direction of Alyn Jones from Alliance 

Youth Works on a number of features in the garden. The 

project is supported by Daytime Opportunities Worker for 

Adult Learning Disability Tina Maguire. 

The day opportunities programme covers four areas of 

development - recreational, vocational, volunteering and 

further education. The group has been marking out and 

digging beds for an orchard, removing the old hedge to allow 

Alyn Jones and Tina Maguire with participants 

involved in the project. 

privet hedge to cultivate, and restoring the paths. There are also plans to introduce pheasants which 

would have been evident in a typical Victorian kitchen garden. Award-winning young architect 

Cathal Fearon is assisting with the restoration of the Victorian Glasshouse to its former glory. 

Jonathan Gallagher said: “I’ve been coming to Benburb for five months and I enjoy working with 

the others on the difference projects. No two days are the same. The work I’ve been doing is part 

of my Open College Network in Conservation course and it is great to see the garden coming 

along every week.” 


page 43




Growing the Local Community 

“Not just growing vegetables but growing 

the community” that’s the message from 

residents at Callan Street, Armagh who now 

grow their own fruit and vegetables thanks 

to a new Community Food Garden set up in 

the local area. The Callan Street Community 

Garden is a social, economic and environmental 

project and has provided the opportunity for 

the local community to take ownership for 

transforming a former derelict green site into a 

biodiversity project. Donna Haughian, Community 

Development Officer with the Trust said: “The 

project was very much a partnership approach 

between community and statutory agencies.” 

Donna Haughian, Southern Trust; Mayor Freda Donnelly, Armagh City 

Council; Mary Black, Public Health Agency; Melanie McClements, 

Southern Trust; Sean Mc Gerrigan, Callan Street Community Garden; 

Jenney McGetrick, Conservation Volunteers NI; Roberta Brownlee, Chair, 

Southern Trust. 

Roberta Brownlee, Chair of the Trust, said, “I am 

very impressed with this project – the garden 

has given and will continue to give residents a 

great opportunity to work side by side, improve 

the community they live in as well as being able 

to grow their own healthy and nutritious fruit and 

vegetables.” 

Memory Wall 

Edenderry Day Centre in Portadown launched 

their latest Arts Care Project. Jill McKeown, 

Artist-in-Residence with Craigavon and Banbridge 

Arts Care Committee, explained “For this project 

I worked people with dementia to create a wall 

installation artwork at the entrance to the day 

centre. The group was interested in telling stories 

about their lives when they were young and we 

decided to use objects based on reminiscence 

and memory to inspire the images for the group 

making their handmade individual ceramic tiles. 

Lynne Cairns, daughter of Bell Johnston, a 

service user at Edenderry Day Centre, said 

at the event “It is such a privilege to be invited 

to this launch, and the work that goes on in the 

Day Centre is second to none. From a relative’s 

perspective, I am so grateful for this facility and I 

would like to thank Arts Care and the staff for the 

time they have taken with the service users to give 

them a way to preserve their memories- not just 

a piece of paper but a permanent piece of art 

work. We must remember that these people were 

young once and had lives like you and I, and it is 

lovely that when they come to Edenderry they are 

among friends and to know that the carers don’t 

just look after them but really care about them.” 

Lynne added, “I would like to thank all the carers 

and also to Arts Care for helping my mother and 

the other people who attend Edenderry make and 

preserve memories which due to their illness they 

forget.” 

Edel Bennett, Chair of Craigavon and Banbridge Arts Care Committee; Jill McKeown, Artist 

in Residence; Joy Walker, Day Care Worker at Edenderry Day Centre Centre; Bell Johnston, 

Service User; Irene Douglas, Service User; Lynne Cairns and Charis Cairns, Mrs Johnston’s 

Mother and Granddaughter. 

page 44 





Youth Health Advice Service 

The Trust in partnership with Southern Regional College and South West College held Youth 

Health Advice drop-in clinics for young people under 25 in campuses across the Southern area. 

Services provided in the clinics included information and advice on relationships, alcohol and drugs, 

nutrition, contraception, smoking cessation and promoting positive mental health. The clinics which 

are nurse-led also provided pregnancy testing, condoms, chlamydia testing and treatment, and 

emergency hormonal contraception (morning after pill). All services are free and confidential. 

The Youth Health Advice Service is funded by the Public Health Agency and has been operating in 

community and college settings for over 2 years in the Southern Area. 

Oonagh Curran, Youth Health Advise Nurse who is one of the nurses providing the service, says: “We 

are happy to talk to young people about a broad range of issues and provide advice or treatment 

where we can. Sometimes when a young person knows that they can have a chat about a personal or 

sensitive issue in confidence, it is enough to put their mind at rest.” 

Gerard Rocks, Head of Health Improvement with the Southern Trust said: “Local and regional research 

has shown that young 

people are keen to 

have confidential health 

services tailored to 

their needs in settings 

where they are more 

likely to access them, 

like the local colleges. 

We have had hundreds 

of young people make 

use of this service 

over the past couple 

of years and the 

feedback has been 

extremely positive with 

many returning to use 

the service again. We 

were delighted that 

the service received 

an award at the Trust’s 

Excellence Awards” 

Elizabeth Mahood, Non-Executive Director; Jackie Fullerton; Minister for Health, Edwin Poots; Roberta Brownlee, Chair; Mairead McAlinden, 

Chief Executive. Seated: Oonagh Curran, Youth Health Advice Nurse; Gerard Rocks, Head of Health Improvement and Lyndsey McCann, Sexual 

Health Advisor. 


page 45


Being a great place to work - valuing our staff 

Acute Stroke Team - Overall Winners of the 

Staff Excellence Awards 2011 

The Acute Stroke Team, 2 South, Craigavon 

Area Hospital were named as Overall winners 

of the Staff Excellence Awards in 2011. 

The team provides a neurovascular daily service to 

patients from across the Southern area suspected 

of high risk Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA). The 

stroke nurse specialist triages all referrals to the 

Neurovascular service and high risk patients are 

now seen within 24 hours of receipt of referral 

and lower risk patients triaged to the weekly clinic, 

non-appropriate referrals are also redirected 

to the referral source. (Specialist Rapid Access 

Service is now available for appropriate Patients) 

To address this and provide a one stop service, a 

dedicated clinic environment within the Stroke Unit 

was built and the daily clinic began in September 

2010. 

This clinic prevents the admission of high risk 

patients and has reduced the length of inpatient 

admissions. A patient satisfaction audit for the daily 

neurovascular clinic revealed 100% satisfaction 

with this service to date. 

Approximately 1700 Transient Ischaemic Attacks 

(TIAs) occur in Northern Ireland every year. 

Approximately 1 in 4 people who have had a 

stroke report symptoms of TIA before their stroke. 

80% of all strokes are preventable if managed 

and treated effectively within the recommended 

time frame. 

The Northern Ireland Stroke Strategy 

recommended that 90% of all confirmed TIAs 

should be assessed and treated as NICE 

recommendations, high risk TIAs within 24hours 

and low risk TIAs within 7days of symptom onset. 

Members of the Acute Stroke Team, 2 South, Craigavon Area Hospital. 

PhD in Life and Health Sciences 

Health Visitor Team Manager Ruth Carroll graduated 

in July with a PhD in Life and Health Sciences. The 

subject of Ruth’s research was the Health Visitor’s 

response to family violence and abuse – a grounded 

theory study, and although relevant to Health Visiting 

practice it can be adapted by other professionals. 

Ruth was runner-up in the RCN Chief Nursing Officer’s 

Award for Patient Safety 2010. Ruth and her team were 

nominated for the work they carried out in identifying a 

number of non-English speaking clients who had been 

victims of domestic violence and offering them support 

on accessing services and developing personal safety 

plans. 

Julie McConville, Head of Health Visiting and School Nursing; 

Francis Rice, Executive Director of Nursing; and Ruth Carroll, 

Health Visitor Team Manager. 

page 46 




Pharmacy Assistants Prescribed 

NVQ Qualification 

Seven Pharmacy Assistant Technical Officers 

who work in Craigavon Area Hospital recently 

collected their NVQ level 2 certificates after 

passing NVQ Edexcel Level 2 in Pharmacy 

Services. 

L-R: Paul Grimley; Dr Tracey Boyce, Director of Pharmaceutical Services; 

Fintan McConville; Michelle Carberry; Ruth McBride; Leanne Kelly; Nicola 

Devlin; Janice Steenson; Brendan Sheridan; Lisa Mulholland; Kevin Bates. 

Leadership Award for 

Systems Manager 

Eight System Managers from the Systems Team 

in Informatics and two Managers from Learning 

& Development in Human Resources received 

the internationally recognised Institute of 

Leadership Management Level 4 Award in 

Management. 

The course included business improvement, 

contingency planning, governance, data quality 

and software testing. 

Heather Ellis, Head of Education Learning and 

Development, said: “I was happy to support this 

accredited programme specifically for IT Systems 

Managers. It gave them the opportunity to have 

dedicated training and share experiences in their 

area of expertise. I trust that they have regarded 

it as a stepping 

stone on the route 

to further their 

development 

within the Trust.” 

Participants in the Institute of 

Leadership Management Level 4 

Award in Management. 

Trust Catering Services 

Commended 

Trust Chair, Roberta Brownlee has commended 

catering staff, who scored highly across the 

Trust in the National Food Hygiene Rating 

Scheme: “Catering services are an essential 

part of patient and client care. Safe, good quality, 

nutritious meals are a vital part of rehabilitation 

and recovery. The Trust’s main hospital kitchens 

produce around 21,000 meals each week for 

patients and staff. In addition we provide meals 

in 63 residential facilities, supported living 

accommodation and day centres. “ 

Around 97% of Trust catering staff have completed 

Food Hygiene training and there are a range of 

systems in place to ensure that the service continues 

to meet standards and complies with legislation. 

Mrs Brownlee continued: “Our catering staff should 

be recognised for maintaining such high standards, 

given the quantity of food they produce.’ 

“Catering services also play a role in implementing 

Nursing Care Standards for Food in Hospital, with 

protected meal times introduced in all wards in 

the past year and the introduction of red tray mats 

for patients who need feeding assistance. These 

initiatives have greatly enhanced the nutritional 

care delivered to patients.” 

Some comments included in recent patient food 

satisfaction surveys included: “I find the meals 

are always attractive and beautiful, served by 

courteous and pleasant staff,” “nursing staff 

chose meals for dad who is incapable” and “I can 

find no fault with any meals.” 

Trust Chair Roberta Brownlee samples the food in South Tyrone Hospital Dining Room. Also 

pictured are Mary McKeever, Support Services Manager, Martina McRory, Cook, Aaron 

McSorley, Catering Assistant and Geraldine McCracken, Catering Supervisor. 


page 47



Award for Social Work 

Research 

Leadership and Management 

Qualifications 

The Trust hosted the 2011 Regional 

Research Methods in Social Work Awards 

in association with the University of Ulster. 

Eight Social Work students from across 

Northern Ireland received awards, two from 

the Southern Trust Marion Canavan and Donna 

Murphy. 

Paul Morgan, Executive Director of Social Work 

for the Southern Trust said: “This research 

programme makes a valuable contribution to the 

development of research skills for professional 

Social Workers in Northern Ireland. These 

candidates should be commended for their 

contribution to the body of knowledge which 

all of social care can draw on. In addition to the 

projects undertaken on the programme, some 

award winners have already applied their skills 

within their work setting. It is now the challenge 

to organisations involved in delivering social 

care to promote and share such findings in 

their practice.” 

Southern Trust representatives from Social Services along with Brian 

Taylor, University of Ulster and Marion Canavan, Southern Trust who 

received an award. 

Pictured at the Presentation of Leadership and Management Qualifications event are Mary 

Crawford, District Nursing Sister; Adele Geddis, Financial Management; Brenda McGrath, 

Assistant Manager, Supported Living Services; and Fiona Sloan, District Nursing Sister, who 

achieved Level 5 Diploma in Management. 

MBE Award 

Dolores McAlinden a Domiciliary Care Worker 

based in the Kilkeel area was nominated to 

receive an MBE in 

recognition of her 

work as a carer in 

the community. 

We are delighted to 

report that on the 

15 December 2011 

Dolores attended 

Buckingham 

Palace and was 

presented with 

her award by 

Prince Charles the 

Prince of Wales. 

Dolores has been 

working for the 

Trust since 1986. 

Dolores stated “I 

was privileged to 

receive such a 

Dolores receiving her award 

highly recognised award in recognition for my work 

as a carer over the years. It has been a great 

experience.” 

page 48 




Trust Staff Win Awards at IHM Conference 

Southern Trust staff did exceptionally well at the Institute of Healthcare 

Management (IHM) Awards, Melanie McClements, Assistant Director 

of Promoting Wellbeing, was highly commended in the Experienced 

Manager category and Valerie Magowan, Domiciliary Care Locality 

Manager for Newry and Mourne area was runner up in the Developing 

Manager category. The Mental Health User and Carer Service Improvement 

Group won the Patient and Client Council ‘Making a Difference’ award in 

recognition of the work to bring about positive improvement and change for 

everyone who use mental health services. Ingrid Stewart, Betty Beamish, 

Lorna Stewart and Alan Leckey represented the Group at the awards. 

These awards recognise the contribution which managers make in health and 

social care. Staff were nominated by their manager and following a rigorous 

assessment process including an interview they were ranked. All the award 

winners were presented with their certificates by the Minister for Health, Mr Edwin 

Poots, who spoke at the award ceremony of the importance of management 

and for the need for managers to continue their very high standard of work and 

the important role they play in Health and Social Care services. 

Photo 1: Melanie McClements, Assistant Director of Promoting Wellbeing receiving her awards from Health Minister, Edwin Poots. 

Photo 2: Valerie Magowan, Domiciliary Care Locality Manager for Newry and Mourne receiving her award from the Minister of Health, Edwin Poots. 

Photo 3: Minister of Health Edwin Poots with Ingrid Stewart, Betty Beamish, Lorna Stewart and Alan Leckey, representing the Mental Health User 

and Carer Service Improvement Group which won the Patient and Client Council ‘Making a Difference’ award. 

1 

2 

3 

Royal College of Nursing Awards 

Kay Donegan and Joan O’Hagan, from the Renal Unit at Daisy Hill Hospital, won the Chief Nursing 

Officer’s Award at the Royal College of Nursing Northern Ireland Nurse of the Year Awards. 

Vera Kelso, Lead Midwife in Community Midwifery Services, won the Public Health Award for 

promoting the vaccination of pregnant women against H1N1 (swine flu) and seasonal flu. Joint 

Runner-up of the Patient’s Choice Award was Community Mental Health Nurse Mary McNicholl, 

who was nominated by the wife of a patient who was suffering anxiety and depression. 

Martin Bradley, Chief Nursing Officer, DHSSPS; Kay Donegan, 

Joan O’Hagan and Janice Smyth, RCN. 

Eddie Rooney, Vera Kelso and Janice Smyth, RCN 

Frances Barrett, Mary McNicholl, Pauline Haslett and 

Janice Smyth 


page 49


Directors’ remuneration 2011/12 

Fees and allowances paid to the Chairman and 

other Non-Executive Directors are as prescribed 

by the Department of Health and Social Services 

and Public Safety. 

The remuneration and other terms and conditions 

of Executive Directors are approved by the 

Remuneration and Terms of Service Committee. 

Its membership includes the Chair and all Non- 

Executive Directors. The terms of reference of the 

Committee are based on Circular HSS (PDD) 8/94 

Section B. 

For the purposes of this report the pay policy 

refers to Senior Executives, defined as Chief 

Executive, Executive Director and Functional 

Director and is based on the guidance issued by 

the Department of Health and Social Services 

and Public Safety on job evaluation, grades, rate 

for the job, pay progression, pay ranges and 

contracts. 

Pay progression is determined by an 

annual assessment of performance. It is the 

responsibility of the Remuneration and Terms of 

Service Committee to monitor and evaluate the 

performance of the Chief Executive ensuring 

that any discretionary awards in terms of 

performance related pay are justifiable in light 

of the Trust’s overall performance against the 

annual Trust Delivery Plan. During 2011/12, 

emphasis continued to be on patient safety, 

ministerial targets and financial balance. The 

Chief Executive in turn is responsible for the 

assessment of performance of the Senior 

Executives based on the attainment of individual 

objectives established at the outset of the year, 

and for the submission of recommendations 

to the Remuneration and Terms of Service 

Committee for its annual review of salaries which 

are conducted in accordance with the relevant 

circulars issued by the Department of Health, 

Social Services and Public Safety. 

In July 2010, the Northern Ireland Executive 

agreed that a 2 year pay freeze would operate 

on public sector pay. For Health and Social 

Care Senior Executive staff the freeze came 

into effect from April 2010 and ended in March 

2012. Throughout the period of the pay freeze 

the minimum and maximum of each of the Senior 

Executive pay bands has not changed. Staff on 

contracts entered into before 23 December 2008 

have had a continued contractual entitlement 

to progression based on performance. Staff on 

contracts entered into after 23 December 2008 are 

bound by the Executive’s pay policy and did not 

have a contractual right to performance payments 

during the period of the pay freeze. The levels of 

performance pay permitted to be applied by the 

Remuneration and Terms of Service Committee 

are prescribed by Department of Health and 

Social Services and Public Safety. No award is 

made for unsatisfactory performance. 

During 2011/12, all contracts were permanent 

and provide for three month’s notice for both 

parties. 

As far as all Senior Executives are concerned, the 

provisions for compensation for early termination 

of contract are in accordance with the appropriate 

Departmental guidance. 

During 2011/12 there were a number of changes to 

Senior Executive staffing: 

Dr Patrick Loughran retired from the post of Medical 

Director on 31 July 2011. CETVs are not reported for 

retirees. 

Dr John Simpson took up the permanent position of 

Medical Director on 1 August 2011. 

Mr A Joynes resigned as Non-Executive Director on 

19 June 2011. 

Mrs S Rooney and Mr R Alexander were appointed 

Non-Executive Directors on 29 August 2011. 

Mr B Dornan retired from the post of Director of 

Children & Young People’s Service on the 30 April 

2011. 

Mr P Morgan was appointed to the post of Director of 

Children & Young People’s Service on 1 March 2011. 

Signed: ................................................................ 

(Chief Executive) 

Date: 14 June 2012 

page 50 



Senior Employees’ Remuneration (Audited) 

The salary, pension entitlements and the value of any taxable benefits in kind of the most 

senior members of the Southern HSC Trust were as follows: 

Name 

Non-Executive Members 

Salary, 

including 

Performance 

Pay £000s 

Benefits in Kind 

(rounded to 

nearest £100) 

Salary, 

including 

Performance 

Pay £000s 

Benefits in Kind 

(rounded to 

nearest £100) 

Mrs R Brownlee 30-35 0 

5-10 

(25-30 full year 

0 

equivalent) 

Mrs E Mahood 5-10 0 

5-10 


0 

equivalent) 

Mrs D Blakely 5-10 0 5-10 0 

Mr E Graham 5-10 0 5-10 0 

Mr A Joynes 

(resigned as Non-executive Director on 19 June 2011) 

0-5 


equivalent) 

0 5-10 0 

Mrs H Kelly 5-10 0 5-10 0 

Dr R Mullan 5-10 0 5-10 0 

Mr R Alexander 

(appointed Non-executive Director from 29 August 2011) 

Mrs S Rooney 


0-5 


equivalent) 

0-5 


equivalent) 

0 N/A N/A 

0 N/A N/A 

Executive Members 

Mrs M McAlinden - Chief Executive 95-100 0 95-100 0 

Mr S McNally - Director of Finance & Procurement 85-90 0 90-95 0 

Dr P Loughran - Medical Director 

(until his retirement on 31 July 2011) 

Dr J Simpson - Medical Director 

(from 1 August 2011) 

Mr B Dornan - Director of Children & Young People’s 

Services (until his retirement on 30 April 2011) 

Mr P Morgan - Director of Children & Young People’s 

Services 

65-70 


equivalent) 

95-100 


equivalent) 

10-15 


equivalent) 

2011/2012 2010/2011 

70-75 0 

0 195-200 0 

0 N/A N/A 

0 100-105 0 

5-10 


equivalent) 

Mr F Rice - Director of Mental Health & Disability 90-95 0 90-95 0 

Other Members 

Mrs P Clarke - Director of Performance & Reform 70-75 0 75-80 0 

Dr G Rankin - Director of Acute Services 90-95 0 95-100 0 

Mr K Donaghy - Director Human Resources & 

Organisational Development 

80-85 0 80-85 0 

Mrs A McVeigh - Director of Older People & Primary Care 75-80 0 85-90 0 

Band of Highest Paid Director’s Total 

Remuneration (£’000s) 

145-150 195-200 

Median Total Remuneration £26,029 £25,333 

Ratio 5.7 7.8 

0 


page 51


Narrative on Pay Multiples 

Reporting entities are required to disclose the relationship 

between the remuneration of the highest paid director in 

their organisation and the median remuneration of the 

organisation’s workforce. 

The banded remuneration of the highest paid director 

in the Southern HSC Trust in the financial year 2011-12 

was £145k-£150k (2010-11, £195k- £200k). This was 5.7 

times (2010-11, 7.8 times) the median remuneration of 

the workforce, which was £26,029 (2010-11, £25,333). 

In 2011-12, 41 (2010-11, 5) employees received 

remuneration in excess of the highest paid director. 

Remuneration ranged from £145k to £200k (2010-11 

£195k to £235k). All of these employees were clinicians. 

Total remuneration includes salary, non-consolidated 

performance-related pay, benefits-in-kind as well as 

severance payments. It does not include employer 

pension contributions and the cash equivalent transfer 

value of pensions. 

In 2011-12 and 2010-11 the most highly paid director was 

the medical director. The postholder in 2010-11 retired 

on 31st July 2011 and a new appointment was made. 

The impact of the differential in remuneration for these 

postholders was that the pay multiple decreased from 7.8 

to 5.7 times the median remuneration of the workforce. 

Senior Employees’ Remuneration (Audited) 

The salary, pension entitlements and the value of any taxable benefits in find of the most 

senior members of the Southern HSC Trust were as follows: 

Name 

Non-Executive Members 

Real Increase in 

pension and 

related lump sum 

at age 60 £000s 

Total Accrued 

pension at age 

60 and related 

lump sum £000s 

CETV at 

31/03/11 

£000s 

CETV at 

31/03/12 

£000s 

Real 

Increase 

in CETV 

£000s 

Mrs R Brownlee N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Mrs E Mahood N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Mrs D Blakely N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Mr E Graham N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Mr A Joynes 

(resigned as Non-executive Director on 19 June 2011) 

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Mrs H Kelly N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Dr R Mullan N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Mr R Alexander 



Mrs S Rooney 



Executive Members 

Mrs M McAlinden - Chief Executive 

Mr S McNally - Director of Finance & Procurement 

Dr P Loughran - Medical Director 

(until his retirement on 31 July 2011) 

Dr J Simpson - (Medical Director from 1 August 2011) 

Mr B Dornan - Director of Children & Young People’s 

Services (retired on 30 April 2011) 

Mr P Morgan - Director of Children & Young People’s 

Services 

Mr F Rice - Director of Mental Health & Disability 

(0-2.5) loss plus 

(0-2.5) lump sum 



35-40 plus 

110-115 lump sum 

35-40 plus 


542 631 89 

718 770 52 


0-2.5 plus 

(2.5-5) lump sum 

50-55 plus 


938 1,045 107 




0-2.5 plus 

0-2.5 lump sum 

2011/2012 

20-25 plus 


30-35 plus 


467 505 38 

430 510 80 

page 52 



Other Members 

Mrs P Clarke - Director of Performance & Reform 

0-2.5 plus 

0-2.5 lump sum 




(2.5-5) lump sum 



15-20 plus 


40-45 plus 

120-125 lump sum 

30-35 plus 


30-35 plus 


248 301 53 

Dr G Rankin - Director of Acute Services 

864 912 48 

Mr K Donaghy - Director of Human Resources & 

Organisational Development 

685 713 28 

Mrs A McVeigh - Director of Older People & 

Primary Care 

550 607 58 

As Non-executive members do not receive pensionable remuneration, there will be no entries in respect of Pensions 

for Non-executive members. 

A Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) is the actuarially 

assessed capital value of the pension scheme benefits 

accrued by a member at a particular point in time. The 

benefits valued are the member’s accrued benefits 

and any contingent spouse’s pension payable from the 

scheme. A CETV is a payment made by a pension scheme, 

or arrangement to secure pension benefits in another 

pension scheme or arrangement when the member leaves 

a scheme and chooses to transfer the benefits accrued 

in their former scheme. The pension figures shown 

relate to the benefits that the individual has accrued as 

a consequence of their total membership of the pension 

scheme, not just their service in a senior capacity to which 

the disclosure applies. The CETV figures and the other 

pension details, include the value of any pension benefits 

in another scheme or arrangement which the individual 

has transferred to the HSC pension scheme. They also 

include any additional pension benefit accrued to the 

member as a result of their purchasing additional years of 

pension service in the scheme at their own cost. 

CETVs are calculated within the guidelines prescribed by 

the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. 

Real Increase in CETV - This reflects the increase in CETV 

effectively funded by the employer. It takes account of the 

increase in accrued pension due to inflation, contributions 

paid by the employee (Including the value of any benefits 

transferred from another pension scheme or arrangement) 

and uses common market valuation factors for the start 

and end of the period. 


page 53


Reporting of early retirement and other compensation 

scheme - exit packages (Audited) 

Exit Package 

Cost Band 

Number of 

Compulsory 

Redundancies 

Number of other 

Departures Agreed 

Total Number of Exit 

Packages by Cost Band 

2011/12 2010/11 2011/12 2010/11 2011/12 2010/11 


Financial Information 


FINANCIAL COMMENTARY ON 2011/12 OUTTURN 

The 2011/12 year presented significant financial 

challenge arising from two main sources. The first 

related to the requirement that the Trust consolidated 

on a recurring and sustainable basis all actions to 

deliver the £36m per annum cash and efficiency 

targets set for the CSR period ending on 31 March 

2012. The second was to prepare for the even 

larger cash and efficiency savings associated with 

the new CSR period commencing 1 April 2012. The 

Trust became aware that during the course of the 

year that these new requirements for cash saving 

and efficiency gains for the 2011/12 financial year 

amounted to £11m and £5m respectively. 

The combined effect of these CSR requirements 

sees the Trust on a continuous 6 year period 

of identifying, implementing and managing the 

release of substantial amounts of resource while 

also seeking to improve the range, quality and 

quantity of health and social services delivered to 

the southern area population. The outturn position 

for 2011/12 of a small surplus of £131,000, when 

considered alongside the high levels of operational 

performance in all aspects of service delivery, 

is a credit to the efforts of all staff members to 

continuously improve the services offered to our 

patients and clients, despite the bleakness of the 

economic environment. 

The Trust is confident that it has secured the ongoing 

delivery of the £36m required to date and is actively 

working with local and regional commissioning 

colleagues to address the new challenge in the 

context of the recently published “Transforming 

Your Care” strategy document. 

Summary Financial Performance for 2011/2012 

Revenue Resource Limit (RRL) 

The Trust kept within the RRL of £507.534m by £131k. 

Capital Resource Limit (CRL) 

The Trust kept within the CRL of £20.65m by £167k. 

Public Sector Payment Policy 

The Department requires that Trusts pay their Non HSC trade creditors in accordance with the Better Payments 

Practice Code and Government Accounting Rules. The Trust’s payment policy (a copy of which can be obtained from 

the Director of Finance) is consistent with the Better Payments Practice Code and Government Accounting Rules and 

its measure of compliance is as follows: 

2012 2012 2011 2011 

Number Value Number Value 

£000 £000 

Total bills paid in year 114,327 180,118 180,591 177,022 

Total bills paid within 30 days or 104,281 172,195 98,136 169,304 

under agreed payment terms 

Percentage of bills paid within 30 91.2% 95.6% 90.4% 95.6% 

days or under agreed payment terms 


page 55


Summary Financial Performance for 2011/2012 

Related Party Transactions 

The Southern HSC Trust is an arms length body of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety and 

as such the Department is a related Party with which the Southern HSC Trust has had various material transactions 

during the year 

• Funding – Revenue resource limit £507,534k of which Non Cash Revenue resource limit £33,829k. 

In addition to the above, during the year the Southern HSC Trust entered into transactions with the following related 

parties (as defined by IAS 24), in which organisations several Directors disclosed interests: 

Ann’s Homecare Domiciliary Care Agency 

Enable NI 

Edward Street Hostel Ltd. 

RPS Consultancy Engineers 

Motor Neuron Disease Association NI 

MacFarlane Environmental 

Total Value of the Transactions 

£ 

3,310,559 

190,121 

19,020 

38,547 

420 

173 

Balance Outstanding at Year End 

£ 

248,112 

0 

210 

0 

0 

0 

Post Balance Sheet Events 

There are no post balance sheet events having a material effect on the accounts. 

External Auditor 

The Trust’s statutory audit was carried out by the Northern Ireland Audit Office. The notional cost of the audit for the 

year ended 31 March 2012 which pertained solely to the audit of the accounts was £48,690. 

Relevant Audit Information 

Each Director has taken all the steps that he ought to have taken as a Director to make himself aware of any relevant 

audit information and to establish that the Trust’s auditor is aware of that information. 

So far as each Director is aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the external auditor is unaware. 

Pension Liabilities 

The accounting treatment of pension liabilities is explained in Note 1.20 of the annual accounts. 

The summary financial statements which follow do not contain sufficient information for a full understanding of the 

activities and performance of the Trust. For further information, the full Accounts, Annual Report and Comptroller and 

Auditor General’s Reports for the year ended 31 March 2012 should be consulted. 

These can be obtained from: 

Mr Stephen McNally, Director of Finance, 

Southern Trust Headquarters, 

Craigavon Area Hospital, 

68 Lurgan Road, 

Portadown, BT63 5QQ, 

Tel: 028 3861 3982 

page 56 



Summary Financial Statements for 

the Year Ended 31 March 2012 

STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE NET EXPENDITURE 

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2012 

2012 

£000s 

Restated 

2011 

£000s 

Expenditure 

Staff costs 

Depreciation 

Other Expenditure 

Income 

Income from activities 

Other Income 

Net Expenditure 

Revenue Resource Limit (RRL) 

Surplus against RRL 

(315,184) 

(12,958) 

(215,764) 

(543,906) 

23,562 

12,941 

36,503 

(507,403) 

507,534 

131 

(316,207) 

(11,516) 

(194,053) 

(521,776) 

22,570 

9,753 

32,323 

(489,453) 

489,622 

169 

OTHER COMPREHENSIVE EXPENDITURE 

Net Gain on revaluation of Property, Plant and 

Equipment 

TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE EXPENDITURE 

for the year ended 31 March 2012 

6,715 

(500,688) 

9 

(489,444) 


page 57


Summary Financial Statements for 

the Year Ended 31 March 2012 

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION AS AT 31 MARCH 2012 

Non Current Assets 

Property, Plant and Equipment 

Intangible Assets 

Trade and other Receivables 

Restated 

Restated 

2012 2011 2010 

£000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s 

261,507 

535 

0 

3,119 

18,748 

491 

(593) 

265,321 

285 

0 

3,417 

17,368 

431 

514 

250,678 

288 

865 

Total Non Current Assets 262,042 265,606 251,831 

Current Assets 

Inventories 

Trade and other Receivables 

Other Current Assets 

Cash and cash equivalents 

3,493 

15,883 

5,160 

626 

Total Current Assets 21,765 21,730 25,162 

Total Assets 283,807 287,336 276,993 

Current Liabilities 

Trade and other Payables (67,517) (61,820) (47,724) 

Provisions (14,132) (19,707) (13,405) 

Total Current Liabilities (81,649) (81,527) (61,129) 

Non Current Assets less Net Current Liabilities 202,158 205,809 215,864 

Non Current Liabilities 

Provisions (7,532) (7,044) (6,739) 

Total Non Current Liabilities (7,532) (7,044) (6,739) 

Assets less Liabilities 194,626 198,765 209,125 

Taxpayers’ equity 

Revaluation Reserve 30,543 23,991 20,105 

State of Comprehensive Net 

Expenditure Reserve 164,083 174,774 189,020 

194,626 198,765 209,125 

I certify that the Summary Financial Statements were approved by the Board on 14 June 2012 and were signed on its 

behalf by: 

Signed…………….…………...……….……………….(Chairman) Date: 14 June 2012 

Signed…………….…………...……….……………….(Chief Executive) Date: 14 June 2012 

page 58 



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Annual Report 2011-12 - Southern Health and Social Care Trust

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