VOLUNTEERS from campaign group Save Our Acute Services (SOAS) travelled to Belfast again this week, this time to make the case for its plan to save SWAH services directly to the Department of Health.
Back in January SOAS launched a comprehensive ‘roadmap’ plan on how to restore and protect services at the Enniskillen hospital, not least emergency general surgery (EGS) which was removed from the hospital after a collapse in the staff rota at the end of 2022.
On Monday this week, a delegation from SOAS travelled to Belfast to present the ‘SWAH – An Integrated Roadmap’ to senior officials at the Department of Health (DoH).
Monday’s trip to Castle Buildings was the volunteers’ second in a fortnight, with a delegation travelling up two weeks ago to deliver just under 30,000 local responses to the Department’s public consultation on the reconfiguration of the North’s hospital network.
These responses rejected the Department’s proposal to downgrade the SWAH to a general hospital, and backed the SOAS roadmap plan to categorise the Enniskillen hospital as a ‘rural area hospital.’
SOAS explained a rural area hospital would not need the full range of services of the planned area hospitals in Derry and Belfast, but would provide essential services to ensure timely access to emergency surgery and would be able to respond to trauma.
Speaking after meeting with the DoH officials on Monday, SOAS spokesman Donal O’Cofaigh said they were “pleased to report that this positive roadmap was very well received,” adding the presentation had been “an important milestone for our campaign and our community.”
“SOAS is leading a positive campaign with a positive message,” he said.
“Today our team set out the detail of our evidence-based proposals which taken together offer and integrated roadmap for the long-term sustainable restoration of services at SWAH.
“This will hugely benefit health services locally, regionally and on a North-South basis.
“SWAH can also contribute significantly to the regional integrated network envisaged by the Department of Health in their recent public consultation.”
Mr O’Cofaigh continued, “We believe it is important to positively engage with all key stakeholders and discussions such as this today help to achieve better outcomes for this area.
“We cannot and will not accept 83,343 people being relegated to having second-class access to life-saving treatment in an emergency or in a case of major trauma.”
He concluded, “SOAS recognises the sensitivities of the patients and staff that we represent. We will always defend our independence as the voice of our community.
“At the same time, we are happy to sit down to meet with all stakeholders – including the Department of Health who have the authority and influence to prompt a return of emergency surgery in SWAH.
“The Roadmap offers a lifetime for our community. We need to ensure that is actioned by those in authority.”
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
Related posts:
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