No risk assessment carried out before emergency surgery suspended

A FREEDOM Of Information (FOI) request has revealed that the Western Trust did not carry out a risk assessment prior to the suspension of emergency general surgery at the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH).

The FOI was requested by members of the Save Our Services campaign group.

Emergency General Surgery (EGS) at the South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen was suspended ‘temporarily’ in December last year. Many patients from Tyrone and Fermanagh now have to travel to Derry or Craigavon for specialist treatment.

The Save Our Services campaign group said the Trust’s decision not to complete risk assessments prior to the suspension of emergency general surgery ‘beggars belief’.

Their FOI also revealed that former Health Minister, Robin Swann rejected the Western Trust’s initial proposal stating the need for ‘more information surrounding patient safety’.

In the FOI response, the Western Trust stated the reason they did not carry out a risk assessment was due to ‘direct action’ being required at the time.

A spokesperson said, “The Trust did not undertake a risk assessment as direct action was required in relation to non-compliance of the emergency surgical on-call rota at South West Acute Hospital.

“Contingency arrangements, including bypass protocols, were developed in direct response to this to ensure patient safety was not compromised.”

Helen Hamill, who is a member of the Save Our Sevices campaign and is also the person who requested the FOI, said the Trust’s decision to go ahead with the suspension of services without a risk assessment has put ‘thousands of patients at risk’.

She told the TyroneHerald, “Risk assessments are a vital part of change and are essential no matter how temporary the intention.

“The fact that one was not carried out by the Trust shows a clear disregard for the welfare of the people of Fermanagh and Tyrone.

“I was completely disgusted when I read the Trust’s answer to the FOI request.”

Ms Hamill added, “We know that in October 2022, Robin Swann refused the request to suspend emergency surgery, citing specifically that increased information around risks to patient safety was needed.

“The fact that the Trust still produced no risk assessment a month later when they made their second request to remove emergency general surgery, highlights for us the lack of consideration of our needs.

“This raises issues for 83,343 South West Acute Hospital patients who are now expected to accept poorer access to urgent surgical care than the rest of Northern Ireland.”

The Western Trust said it had nothing to add to the comments contained within the FOI response.