Hundreds Demonstrate at South West Acute Hospital Regarding Service Restoration

A demonstration occurred in County Fermanagh, advocating for the reinstatement of services at the South West Acute Hospital. Hundreds participated in a candlelit vigil held in Enniskillen, commemorating the two-year anniversary of the temporary suspension of emergency general surgery. The Western Trust stated at the time that this measure was essential to safeguard public safety, following difficulties in recruiting surgical personnel. Subsequently, patients residing in Fermanagh have been required to journey to Altnagelvin Hospital in Londonderry. Advocates contend that the distance and travel duration, coupled with inadequate transport infrastructure, endanger lives. Pauline Corrigan, representing the Save Our Acute Services campaign group, articulated that residents of Fermanagh perceive themselves as “second class citizens”. “Where I live in rural Fermanagh it takes two hours to get to Altnagelvin on a good day. If we have an accident on the farm we’re done. Our animals have more rights than us,” she stated. “We’re not going to take it anymore,” she further remarked. “This is a step too far. People are dying and the powers that be aren’t listening.” “I’d like to ask Mr Nesbitt to come to my house and I will travel with him up to Altnagelvin and then see if he thinks that’s safe.” Helen O’Sullivan, also from the campaign group, affirmed: “every voice matters” and “we matter”. “The people of Fermanagh are not going to be silenced, we want our facilities,” she declared. “I just feel for the safety of our loved ones. I think there are going to be deaths,” she proceeded. “I just don’t think it’s fair and that’s the concern. The major concern is health.” Geraldine McKay, the trust’s director of acute services, clarified at the time that the decision stemmed from a shortage of consultant surgeons. She mentioned that a consultant within the general surgery team had recently resigned. “Despite our previous and ongoing efforts to recruit, we have not been successful to date in securing the necessary consultant workforce,” Ms McKay stated. “The trust is therefore now unable to maintain the required workforce to sustain and deliver a safe emergency (unplanned) general surgical service to our population from SWAH.” “Put simply, we cannot provide an emergency general surgery service without a consultant surgical team in place to provide the required 24/7 cover.” Emergency general surgery pertains to the medical care of individuals suffering from conditions including acute abdominal pain, infections, bleeding, and trauma. This encompasses procedures like the removal of a patient’s gall bladder, appendix, or a section of the bowel. Should these conditions remain untreated, they possess the potential to become life-threatening. The Western Trust reported that SWAH handled approximately five such instances daily, a volume deemed insufficient to support a dedicated emergency general surgical team. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content of external sites. Information regarding our approach to external linking is available.