FERMANAGH families are clocking up thousands of miles each, and are forking hundreds of pounds in the midst of a cost of living crisis, travelling to Derry with their loved ones who require treatment at Altnagelvin Hospital.
For example, two local siblings told the Herald they have recently travelled well over 2,000 miles and have spent almost £600 to attend to their parent at the Derry in just a few short weeks, with those totals only set to grow as their loved one remains in hospital.
Given the numbers of patients and their families now having to make the same trip – with some even having to fork out to stay over in Derry – collectively Fermanagh residents have no doubt clocked up hundreds of thousands of miles in travel and tens of thousands in expenses and costs over the past year.
Since the removal of emergency general surgery from the SWAH in December 2022, any patients now attending the Enniskillen hospital who are deemed as potentially requiring any type of surgical intervention – aside from in the area of obstetrics and gynaecology – are sent on to Altnagelvin for their treatment.
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