Southern Health & Social Care Trust board chair makes plea for healthcare staff ‘fair pay’

At a board meeting of the Southern Health & Social Care (HSC) Trust on Thursday, chair of the panel, Eileen Mullan, paid a glowing tribute to healthcare staff within the Trust, backing their call for better pay.

At the start of the meeting, she stated: “[You provide] care for our patients and service users, knowing it’s not at the level that you want it to be.

“In the last few weeks – it seems like it’s been the last few years – we have seen significant challenges in the community and our hospitals. There is no magic wand.

“We need to realise in health and social care what it will be and how it should be delivered.

“There have been changes made already in line with [Health and Wellbeing 2026 Delivering Together], cutting down waiting lists, reducing hospital admissions through increasing access to acute care homes, more ambulatory provision and same-day emergency care.

“Every day, there are thousands of touch points where you, our staff, do amazing things to help our patients, our service users and their families.

“We know how hard you are working. Your resilience is to be admired. You have our thanks, our appreciation and our support for fair pay.

“So it’s a thank you from us for all that you do.”

The meeting was held at the Southern HSC Trust headquarters in Craigavon Area Hospital.