HUNDREDS of people turned out to Fermanagh House on Monday night as health campaign group ‘Save Our Acute Services’ (SOAS) launched a discussion paper on a roadmap for the restoration of services at South West Acute Hospital (SWAH).
The document provides a framework for meeting the Department of Health’s obligations in relation to the shortfall of clinical consultants and also offers substantial wider benefits to the NI Health and Social Care system.
As there was delight with how many turned up, eyes also turned to the absence of local politicians.
Only three councilors made it to the meeting, one of which was Adam Gannon, who said the turn out from politicians was ‘disappointing’.
“The hospital is life or death in this community, without that hospital people will die, we are waiting on figures to see the impacts of changes to people in Fermanagh and we haven’t seen those yet,” said Mr Gannon.
“It’s disappointing that there is a low turnout [of politicians]. I don’t know if there was any MLAs or MPs present but it is disappointing because the decision to base that hospital here was a political decision. It is a political decision to let that hospital go the way it is going.
“If there was the political will the general surgery would be back in the morning, it could be done if the Stormont Executive chose to do it.”
He said it’s up to the people to put pressure on politicians.
“It is a brilliant positive plan, massive capacity around 50 percent of that capacity unused, that needs to be used up. The North/South is so essential and it is working brilliantly elsewhere. This is what we need, a positive vision for the hospital not the negativity that the Trust seem to be putting on us by removing services and behaviour in the past. It is a positive plan and we need to see it come to fruition,” he added.
Councilor Eddie Roofe is hoping to meet with the Health Minister.
“Part of the problem we have at the minute is that the Department of Health have not requested that the Trust provide a roadmap themselves to the restoration of general surger,y so they don’t have to do it unless the Department of Health asks them,” he said.
“That will be one of the main questions I will be putting to him, what exactly are we going to do to force the Western Trust to actually plan for the restoration because at the minute there is no plan. It is they have no intention of restoring general surgery so until a plan appears, until they are forced to make a plan by the Department of Health we will be no closure to a solution.”
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