ONE year on since the people of Fermanagh came out in force to support the SWAH, the community is once again urged to unite for a rally this weekend calling for the full restoration the emergency general surgery (EGS) service at the hospital.
The rally, which has been organised by the ever-growing Save Our Acute Services (SOAS) campaign, is aimed at showing that the people of Fermanagh will not accept the removal of EGS from the SWAH, and will not be treated differently to patients everywhere else in the North.
Taking place from 2pm at the Diamond in Enniskillen this Sunday, the event will feature a tractor, truck and vintage car run, as well as speakers across a range of sectors in the county, from tourism to business to farming and industry.
Helen O’Sullivan from SOAS said the idea was to raise awareness of the wide ranging impact the removal of EGS from the SWAH was having not only on all other departments at the hospital, with staff leaving, but on all corners of Fermanagh society.
“The impact this is having is far reaching, and it’s going to impact every sector. It’s not for anyone to sit back and think it’s not going to affect them, because it will,” she said, adding it was important people came out to show a united front.
“If we don’t come out, we don’t have visibility, and it’s naturally easy for the Trust to say, they’re grand, they’re fine, they’re accepting this.”
Stating she was fearful of where Fermanagh would be in five years, Helen added, “What’s it going to take for people to sit up and take notice?
“It’s almost like there’s going to be one catastrophic, high profile death, or several, something on the front page on your paper that, if we had the services, lives would have been saved [if EGS was there]. Then people will ask what’s happening.”
Pointing to the progress SOAS had been making in recent times, with hope remaining the continued pressure from the community will prevail, Helen said people were increasingly experiencing the fall out of the EGS removal first hand.
While it had been originally intended to have music and family fun at the rally, since it is now taking place on Remembrance Sunday, SOAS has decided to proceed more sensitively with the event itself. However, Helen said after much discussion, it was decided the issue was too important for it not to proceed.
She also pointed to the lives saved on that fateful day in 1987 by the emergency services at the Erne Hospital.
“If we didn’t have our emergency services there, how many more would have died?” she asked.
For full details, including how to enter the vintage rally, visit Save Our Acute Services on Facebook.
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