THERE will be a public meeting in Enniskillen this week to help both local health staff and patients have their voices heard on the ongoing situation at the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH).
Organised by Save Our Acute Services (SOAS), the meeting takes place this evening (Thursday, August 1) in Fermanagh House at 7pm and will focus on how to contribute to the ongoing review by the independent Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA).
RQIA is currently carrying out a review of the patient pathways associated with the suspension of emergency general surgery (EGS) at the SWAH, including their direct and indirect impacts.
As part of that review RQIA has been speaking with local patients directly impacted by the EGS suspension, and with local health staff, both at SWAH and Altnagelvin and within the wider local health service.
All views and stories are being treated in the strictest of confidence by the RQIA team, who are operating completely independently from both the Western Trust and the Department of Health.
With the current information gathering stage of the review due to end in the coming weeks, tomorrow night’s meeting will be a chance for both staff and patients who have not yet contributed to hear how they can still get involved.
A SOAS spokeswoman urged everyone who has a story to tell or views to share to attend the meeting, for the sake of everyone in the local community.
“This is where we live, we raise our families in this community,” they said. “Every single job matters. Every front line staff and everybody being served by that front line, need to be able to describe how it’s not OK in its current format.
“We feel this evening, as an information meeting to make people aware of how they can report any significant concerns, is what we really need to do. This is our community.”
Last week former head of surgery at the hospital, Dr Essam Ghareeb, urged staff at the SWAH to speak out, stating “taking part in this review is an important part of the staff’s duty towards their patients.”
Mr Ghareeb, who has been vocal in the past about his concerns for patient safety since the removal of SWAH EGS, added, “Health professionals’ duty towards their patients does not stop at the point of direct contact, but the responsibility extends to a wider scope of insuring that they are getting the proper services.”
Fr Brian D’Arcy also urged staff to take part, stating, “I encourage you in any way I can to assist RQIA now, to highlight the lack of appropriate care for the people of this area.”
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