Community urged to unite and save hospital services

PEOPLE across Omagh and Fermanagh are being urged to unite in the fight to save services at the South West Acute Hospital, with concern the hospital’s acute status could be under threat, and local lives could be lost, due to the expected removal of emergency surgery.

While the Western Health Trust has insisted no decision has yet been made on the future of acute surgery at the hospital, the UH understands an announcement on the withdrawal of the service is imminent.

Cllr Paul Blake, who last week stated in the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council chamber that he had learned the Trust was intending to announce the withdrawal of the service, is also standing by his source.

Now, a prominent health campaigner has urged people from all sectors of society to come together to fight the withdrawal, which could have a knock-on affect on other services, including the hospital’s emergency department, or obstetrics and gynaecology.

PRESSURE

It is also feared the move could put more pressure on the ambulance service.

Una O’Reilly, who was heavily involved in the successful fight to save local maternity services many years ago and has been involved in campaigns to protect other services in the years since, told the ‘Herald whether or not the Trust had finalised its decision yet, “people should be able to get up and do something”.

“People power works, no matter what the situation,” she said, adding the current concern was “not scaremongering” and the threat was real.

Ms O’Reilly urged the younger generations to lead the fight, but said everyone in the community needed to unite behind the hospital.

“Our younger generation needs to realise what this is going to do to the community,” she said.

“Younger people have moved back to this area to work from home… They won’t want to come and live where we have a run-down hospital.”

As previously reported by the ‘Herald, a Trust review of the acute surgery provision at the Enniskillen hospital has led to concern the acute surgery service may be moved from SWAH to another site.

It is understood the service has been experiencing staffing issues.

TOUGH DECISIONS

In June, Trust chief executive Neil Guckian said tough decisions would have to be made regarding the SWAH service, and said the Trust review was assessing its sustainability.

Last week local Cllr Paul Blake stated in at a council meeting the decision to slash the service had already been made.

The Trust denied this, however Cllr Blake told the ‘Herald afterwards his source was “one hundred per-cent reliable”.

Cllr Donal O’Cofaigh, who has been warning of threats to the SWAH acute surgery service since April, said the decision to remove the service would cost lives, and threaten the future status of the hospital.

“Losing emergency surgery will mean huge numbers of lives lost as ambulances are forced to bypass our local hospital and travel all the way to Altnagelvin or Craigavon in an emergency,” he said.

“The loss will also inexorably lead to all other acute services being undermined – including our maternity and stroke,” he said.

“There is a domino effect and this is the central domino. We have to fight this. The people and workers of Fermanagh need to take a stand.

“If Stormont does not reverse course then we need to prepare to mount a fiercesome campaign up to and including mass civil disobedience to defend our hospital and our NHS.”