Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald has said she believes integrating a united health service across north and south could elevate the currently struggling systems on both sides of the border.
Speaking to the ‘Herald ahead of last week’s rural health event at the Westville Hotel in Enniskillen, Ms McDonald emphasised part of this vision would include the mental health sector, and said she believed improvements would be made under an all-island healthcare system.
“The first thing we need to do is stop treating mental health as almost like the Cinderella of health services, as though it is somehow secondary to physical health,” she said.
“We know now that that’s not true. In many respects, we are facing a crisis in mental health.
“You hear the expression, ‘It’s okay not to be okay.’ It’s important that we send that message out loud.
“But we also have to ensure that when people say, ‘I’m not okay,’ there are actually services they can rely on.
“The system needs to catch up. In the first instance, that means spending appropriately. Borders don’t matter—mental health doesn’t care about arbitrary lines on a map.
“We’re all human beings. I think it’s vital that this evening, as the conversation unfolds with the panel, mental health will be strongly mentioned and considered.”
Ms McDonald also addressed how she believed the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH) could reach its potential.
“I think access to healthcare at every level, from GP access and primary care to emergency and elective procedures, is a critical issue,” Mary Lou said.
“It’s already a challenge for people across Fermanagh, but really, it’s an issue across the island,”
“We’re holding our meeting in a place where there is considerable unease around hospital services, access to surgery, and the long journeys many people must make to reach Altnagelvin.
“But there’s also an opportunity here. That hospital has capacity that isn’t being fully used.
“I think we need to consider how we can take advantage of that and improve access to care.
“I believe that could be a win on both sides of the border.
“Our review concludes that we need to reconfigure the system so that, wherever you live on the island, you can access care in a timely fashion.”
