AFTER a distinguished career in medicine spanning almost five decades, one of Fermanagh’s best known hospital consultants is calling it a day.
Dr Moti Rahman has spent 27 years based in the area first as a consultant in general surgery and then in the emergency department.
He first came to work in Fermanagh almost 30 years ago when there wasn’t even a dedicated accident and emergency department in the old Erne Hospital.
Today, he is retiring from the state-of-the art emergency department at the South West Acute Hospital, which opened almost six years ago and which was a long-time dream of Dr Moti and his team.
Back in 1991 when Dr Rahman arrived at the Erne, emergencies were dealt with either by the surgical department or patients were sent directly to wards by their GPs.
After Dr Rahman was appointed to a surgical post and the medical team was expanded, the hospital was able to set up a rudimentary ED, which grew from those small beginnings into the current facility at SWAH.
Educated at Dhaka University in his native Bangladesh, Dr Rahman began his medical career on the frontline in Nigeria, as he wanted to get some world experience, before he was headhunted by Irish consultants.
Upon arriving in Ireland he first worked in Dublin and Mullingar under the president of the Royal College, before briefly working in Omagh, then coming to Enniskillen. The father-of-three had the choice of three other jobs at the Royal Victoria in Belfast, Altnagelvin in Derry, or Whitechapel Hospital in London. After much soul-searching, he opted for Fermanagh because he felt it was the best move for his children’s education and family lifestyle.
“I was looking to move to a smaller town like Enniskillen with very good schools and its equal distance from Belfast and Dublin. I can make friends anywhere with people irrespective of age, sex and religion and Fermanagh has been no different.”
In his almost 30 years as a consultant and in his previous roles in Bangladesh and Africa, Dr Rahman has seen more than his fair share of horrific injuries including the 1998 Omagh bomb.
Speaking to the Herald, Dr Rahman said he was standing down with mixed feelings but hinted that he may not be fully disappearing from the medical scene.
“A doctor never fully retires and I will always jump forward to help out where I am needed. For now I will take some time out for a few months to get my life sorted out and see what happens from there,” he added.
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