The Western Trust has confirmed it is to pause the consultation on the permanent removal of emergency general surgery (EGS) from the South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen, and apologised for the recent uncertainty surrounding the process.
However, it has also reminded the public the temporary removal, and the arrangements put in place to tranfer Fermanagh patients to Altnagelvin for EGS services, remain in place.
As revealed by the ‘Herald yesterday afternoon, the Trust had already announced it was ‘resetting’ the consultation process, after huge demand from the Fermanagh public forced the cancellation of its planned public consultation event at the Killyhevlin Hotel on Tuesday night. You can read more about that here.
Now, in a statement released a short time ago, a Trust spokesperson said: “Trust Board members agreed today to pause and reconsider our consultation approach
“We fully respect the Minister’s request this week to take cognisance of the feedback to date around the content, scheduling and timescales of the consultation process.
“The Trust supported by the DoH remains fully committed to the long term development and vision for SWAH. The Trust would highlight that the South West Acute Hospital continues to be a successful acute hospital, providing high quality care with a Consultant-led Emergency Department
“It is important for the public to note that the temporary transfer of emergency general surgery to Altnagelvin Hospital continues to be in place.