THE PEOPLE of Fermanagh are being urged to wrap up this Thursday evening and come out to join the fight to save our services and support the staff at the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH).
From Kesh to Kinawley, Pettigo to Newtown, the hard working volunteers from Save Our Acute Services (SOAS) have been busy in recent weeks spreading the message that Fermanagh and the SWAH will not be forgotten, two years on from the ‘temporary’ removal of emergency general surgery from the SWAH.
Tomorrow night (Thursday, November 14) SOAS will mark that poignant anniversary with a candlelit vigil at 7pm at the Diamond in Enniskillen, and is asking the entire community to join in.
Over the past number of weeks SOAS members have also been sharing their personal experiences in the hope of encouraging as many people as possible to come out in support. These have included some very personal and very brave testimonies.
This week, the campaign has also been sharing videos of support for the vigil from well-known members of the local community.
Speaking on behalf of Fermanagh GAA, for example, Brian Armitage encouraged everyone who can to attend tomorrow night’s vigil, pointing out the necessity to have full emergency services in the local area in the event of an emergency, whether at a football match or otherwise.
Local hotelier Joe Mahon has also urged a strong turnout tomorrow night to show support for the hospital and its staff.
SOAS member Carmel Magee outlined just two of the main reasons the entire community should be on the Enniskillen streets tomorrow night.
“We all know, over the last two years, cases where our family and friends have had to endure really unfair and unsafe situations as a result of the emergency surgery being removed from our hospital,” she said.
“We’ve also seen the fear and the concern in the staff, who are also our family and our friends, as they continually see the downgrading of services.”
For more visit Save Our Acute Services on Facebook.
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