Fermanagh have come out in force to have their say on SWAH with 28,494 people signing the Consultation Hospital Network forms.
Members from SOAS travelled to Belfast on Thursday (27 February 2025) to deliver the responses to the Department of Health.
SOAS has gathered many thousands of signatures at various events and locations across the county that will be submitted in response to the ‘Creating a Network for Better Outcomes’ consultation, which closes this today, Friday, February 28.
The thousands of responses gathered by SOAS make clear local people here will not accept the downgrading of the hospital, and the permanent removal of the hospital’s EGS, which has now been suspended for over two years.
“It was truly amazing that the people of Fermanagh have still got so much faith in the SOAS team for this campaign,” Helen Hamill from SOAS said.
Ms Hamill explained that they also done the same journey when they travelled to Belfast with the Bariatric Consultation forms last year. Helen also pointed out that it was incredible that 50% more people signed this time around.
“The Community Committee have been immense. We held five public meetings about our Roadmap, offering the option at the end of each presentation to sign up and put your faith in that roadmap that SWAH must be a “Rural Area Hospital” as their individual response to what the hospital configuration must look like,” Helen added.
“The community committee went all over the country and collected signatures, men women and children. It’s almost half of the population of this area made their way to sign those forms and that was so incredibly emotive. It drove us.
“The sun shone for the people of Fermanagh.”