A 'summit' this week to discuss the future of Daisy Hill Hospital's emergency department will not be open to the public or media.
Campaigners fighting to retain A&E services in Newry said health chiefs must be "as transparent as possible" so that people are not left in the dark.
There were angry scenes last week as protesters attempted to gain entry to a meeting of the Southern Health and Social Care Trust.
The trust previously said temporary suspension of the emergency unit – which deals with around 50,000 patients per year - would be a “last resort”, but warned that it was relying too heavily on locum doctors and was unsustainable.
Plans to expand capacity at Craigavon Area Hospital to accommodate those unable to attend Daisy Hill were criticised due to the potential risk for emergency patients forced to travel further.
An announcement on Daisy Hill had been expected by the trust last week, triggering a consultation process on its future, but interim chief executive Stephen McNally instead said a “regional summit” would be held tomorrow to explore options to “safely sustain” A&E services at Daisy Hill.
The Health and Social Care Board, the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority, Ambulance Service and Public health Agency are expected to take part.
However, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health, which is hosting the meeting, told The Irish News: “As this is an operational meeting it will not be open to the public or the media. A further update on next steps will be provided next week.”
Séana Grant, from the Save Our Emergency Department group, said protesters would scrutinise the process despite it taking place behind closed doors.
“We don’t want to disrupt their process, all we care about is a proper solution to this problem,” she said.
“However, we expect the trust and the department to be as transparent as possible as this goes on, so that the public are not kept in the dark at any stage.
“We have been told minutes will be taken and we will be going over them with a fine-tooth comb to ensure all options are explored here.”
She added: “We are open to solutions, but we will never accept the closure of the ward. The trust could never stand over that decision when other emergency wards are as locum-dependent as Daisy Hill, but they remain open.”
