Daisy Hill Hospital to get £9.1m electricity upgrade

The site was designated a regional elective overnight stay centre last year

A £9.1m project to upgrade electricity supply at Daisy Hill Hospital has been approved by the Department of Health.

The Southern Trust says it will take some years to install the low voltage electrical infrastructure.

Permanent secretary at the department, Peter May, said the investment "will enable the trust to provide a safe resilient supply of electricity" at the hospital.

The site was designated a regional elective overnight stay centre.

This was part of a reconfiguration of general surgery services announced last year.

The chief executive of the Southern Trust said Daisy Hill was "an essential part" of the acute hospital network.

In November, it was confirmed that an MRI scanner would not be installed in the hospital until 2028 at the earliest.

The Southern Trust said the delay was caused by low voltage electrical infrastructure.

• No MRI scanner at Daisy Hill until at least 2028

"The approval of the project to improve low voltage electrical capability is a much welcome boost for the ageing hospital infrastructure and another commitment to the future of our hospital," Maria O'Kane added.

"This will provide a foundation to allow us to further expand services with the development of a twin diagnostic scanning suite in the long term.

"I would like to thank our community forum, who have worked with trust colleagues as part of the Daisy Hill Pathfinder Group and the Daisy Hill Future Group for their continued support in improving services and securing this latest investment in the interests of local people.

"Our estates team will be taking a phased approach to installing the low voltage electricity over the next few years and will, as always, do their very best to minimise disruption while we make these improvements throughout the hospital."