LOCAL families have warmly welcomed the introduction of ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgery at the SWAH.
Last week the Western Trust announced ENT day procedure surgery had begun at the Enniskillen hospital. The first six patients had their procedures locally last Tuesday.
These procedures will now happen regularly, with consultant ENT surgeon Mr Reddy coming to the SWAH to oversee a weekly list.
One of the first to avail of the new service was six-year-old Ryan Donaghey from Ederney. His parents Caroline and Justin said the whole experience “worked out great.”
“Ryan’s hearing has deteriorated over the past two years,” said Caroline, speaking last week. “Ryan attends a speech and language unit at Holy Trinity PS, Enniskillen.
“Ryan has grommets fitted this morning and we hope this procedure will help his hearing and speech and improve his learning.
“We received a telephone call on Friday to say that Ryan was on the emergency cancellation list and offered the procedure today at the South West Acute Hospital.
“This has worked out great with the mid-term break and Ryan won’t be missing any time off school and he will be able to recover at home this week with his brothers and sister looking after him.”
They added, “It is brilliant that this procedure can be carried out locally at the SWAH. We would like to thank Mr Reddy, ENT Consultant Surgeon and all the theatre staff for their excellent treatment and care to Ryan.”
Another young patient to avail of the service last week was 10-year-old Caolan Cinnamond from Brookeborough. His mum Katie also welcomed the introduction of the service.
“I brought Caolan in for an ENT procedure this morning and I have to say it is great to have our local SWAH delivering this new service on our doorstep,” said Katie.
“We live in Brookeborough so this is only a short drive to the hospital. It is wonderful to hear than ENT surgery will now be delivered in our local hospital. I wish to thank all the ENT team for their care for Caolan today.”
Trust deputy medical director Ronan O’Hare said the introduction of the ENT day procedures was a good use of the theatres at the state-of-the-art hospital.
“The ENT list, along with the recent introduction of the breast surgery and regional paediatric general surgical lists are a welcome development for the utilisation of theatres at the hospital,” said Prof O’Hare.
“We are acutely aware of the long waits for patients who have been waiting for surgical procedures across the region and we hope to continue to develop services here for the benefit of our local population.”
In the wider community, the move has been hailed as “a step in the right direction” for services at the SWAH, where emergency general surgery was suspended over two years ago.
To read more on this story see this week’s Fermanagh Herald. Can’t get to the shop to collect your copy? No problem! You can download a copy straight to your device by following this link… Subscribe to current edition
To read more.. Subscribe to current edition
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere