THE COMMUNITY is being urged to turn out in Enniskillen next week for a public show of support for the SWAH and its staff.
Taking place at 6.30pm on Tuesday evening, February 21st, in Enniskillen town centre, the event is being organised by the Save Our Acute Services campaign group and is the latest public show of support planned for the hospital.
Earlier on Tuesday, SOAS will be joining staff on the picket lines at the SWAH during the day – with a strike planned at the hospital by major unions as part of ongoing industrial action – ahead of a special Council meeting that evening where the group will be outlining how the SWAH is extraordinarily unique case compared to other hospitals, given its geographical location.
At that meeting, which is a public meeting and will be streamed on the Council’s YouTube, the group will be putting forward how it is fighting to “change the narrative and the plan” of what is currently happening with services at the hospital.
The group said it had met with all the political parties and were united with the representatives in their aim of changing the trend of the reduction of SWAH services. SOAS added it was “100 per cent with the staff” at the SWAH.
“We’re not going to let this go,” said the group, which is keen to spread a “yes we can” message in the community.
Prior to the Council meeting, SOAS is urging everyone who can to attend the public event, which is aimed at showing the local solidarity in support of the staff and services at the hospital in a respectful way, much like the impromptu demonstration in November outside Enniskillen Townhall in response to the Western Trust’s announcement of the suspension of emergency general surgery at the SWAH.
The group has printed numerous posters advertising the event, which will be distributed to shops and businesses across the county in the coming days. Find out more here.
FUNDRAISING
Meanwhile, as it continues with its campaign to save SWAH services, the SOAS group this week launched a GoFundMe page to help raise funds to help continue its work.
All money raised through the page, which can be found by searching for ‘Save Our Acute Services S.W.A.H’ on www.gofundme.com, will be used to help the group continue to fight to save and protect local health services.
“We will ensure the community of Fermanagh and West Tyrone have EQUAL access to the same “safe urgent and emergency care services” as the rest of Northern Ireland,” said a SOAS spokesman.
“We need your financial support to assist us in doing so.”
To donate to the Go Fund Me, click here.
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