UNDER THREAT…South West Acute Hospital
ENNISKILLEN’S South West Acute Hospital could face the prospect of its acute services being stripped if government acts on an authorative report just published on the future of the health service.
Recommendations to reduce the number of acute hospitals in the North to just four – which would mean the inevitable loss of Enniskillen’s acute status – were made by a former chief medical officer who was drafted in to conduct a major review at how effectively the Department of Health and the health trusts, including the Western, have been performing.
Liam Donaldson, who is a world-renowned expert in medicine, stated that for a population of 1.8 million in the North, people would likely be served by four acute hospitals and not the current 10 that it has.
The ten acute hospitals include the SWAH, Altnagelvin, Antrim, Belfast City, Causeway, Craigavon, Daisy Hill, Mater, Royal Group and Ulster.
And comments by health minister Jim Wells after the hard-hitting report was made public will fuel concerns about the future of the Enniskillen hospital.
Health Minister, Jim Wells, told the Northern Ireland Assembly after the review was made public: “The real choice we face is an uncomfortable one by all of us, including political representatives. Do we want a world-class service, or a service on our door-step, which, while convenient, may be suboptimal and compromise quality and safety.”
The Western Trust was contacted, however they refused to make a comment on this matter.
Fermanagh and South Tyrone MP, Michelle Gildernew, said SWAH was an easy target.
“If Liam Donaldson and the independent panel or the Minister of Health are looking at acute facilities across the board then they should look at the proliferation of hospitals in the greater Belfast area rather than the rural dwellers and people west of the Bann who are again called upon to do without these services.
“It bothers me that if you look at the six counties, Altnagelvin, Enniskillen and Craigavon are all necessary. Those three hospitals need to maintain their acute status.
“Unless everything possible is done to protect services then yes, SWAH acute services are at risk. There are already some policies that undermine services at the hospital.
“I don’t think this review leaves SWAH any less vulnerable, I think it’s probably an easy target but the wrong target. We fought hard to maintain acute services in this constituency we don’t see any rationale for reducing the level of service at the hospital.
“Any decision to make cuts will be made by the health minister and the executive and not the independent body that made these recommendations. Wherever the axe falls, will be decided by the Health Minister and the Executive.”
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