THERE was cross-party support in the Stormont chamber yesterday for the Fermanagh campaign to save emergency general surgery (EGS) at the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH).
Members of Save Our Acute Services (SOAS) travelled to Belfast for the Assembly debate on the future of services at the SWAH yesterday evening (Tuesday, September 9), where MLAs from the DUP, Sinn Féin, the UUP, and the SDLP all gave their backing for the group.
The debate had originally been tabled by Fermanagh South Tyrone MLA Deborah Erskine. Ms Erskine unfortunately couldn’t make it due to health reasons, however it was carried on by her party colleague Diane Dodds.
The debate came amid the ongoing uncertainty of the future of EGS at the SWAH, which was temporarily suspended by the Western Trust in late 2022.
Ever since Fermanagh patients requiring any unscheduled surgical intervention – outside of obstetrics and gynaecology – have had to travel to Altnagelvin in Derry for treatment. Many have been asked to find their own transport for the journey, which involves a three hour, 108 mile round trip from hospital to hospital. Many local patients have also been facing a ‘double ED’ experience, having first waited through the queue at the SWAH emergency department, and then having to join the queue from scratch again in Altnagelvin.
Earlier this summer the Trust opened a public consultation on permanently removing the life-saving service, which prompted a huge public reaction locally, including plans for a large protest at the only planned consultation event in the county. Just days after the consultation was opened, the Trust announced it was pausing the process, following an intervention by Health Minister Mike Nesbitt.
Ministerial appeal
Following yesterday’s debate, SOAS called on Minister Nesbitt to intervene again, and commit to the restoration of the EGS service at SWAH.
SOAS spokesperson Donal O’Cofaigh thanked Ms Erskine and Ms Dodds for bringing the debate to the chamber. He also thanked Minister Nesbitt and all the MLAs who contributed.
“The debate heard accounts from party representatives from across the political divide of the
concerning experiences they had heard first hand from constituents as a result of the suspension of
emergency surgery at SWAH,” he said.
“Most importantly representatives of Sinn Fein, the DUP and the SDLP highlighted the unfair 2-hour travelling time for patients and their families to get from Fermanagh to Altnagelvin for emergency treatment.
“There were calls for the Minister to fully account for rurality in the transformation of acute hospital services in Northern Ireland. SWAH needs a trauma-informed rural health model that protects our community for generations to come.”
Mr O’Cofaigh added, “It is approaching three years since the decision was taken to remove emergency general surgery from SWAH and from our community. In the intervening period, public concern and anger has only grown as the full impact of the decision has become ever more apparent with increasing numbers experiencing long ambulance delays, double ED waits and worse. Every week new stories are being told of unacceptable patient experiences – the pressure is mounting and we need to see delivery by the Minister.
“While we welcome the minister’s intervention and demand for the Western Trust to bring forward a vision plan for SWAH – we now need him to use his full ministerial authority and instruct the Western Trust to identify a pathway that will lead to the restoration of emergency surgery at SWAH. This can start with issuing a clear commitment to restoration of emergency surgery. Nothing less is
acceptable. We need decisive political action to vindicate our community’s rights to timely access to
life-saving surgery in an emergency situation.”