Junior doctors to stage more walkouts in the North


JUNIOR doctors in Northern Ireland have said they will stage further strike action after pay talks with the Department of Health broke down. It will see two 48-hour walkouts from May 22-24, followed by a similar walkout from June 6-8. Junior doctors previously went on strike for the first time on March 6. A Western Trust […]

Fermanagh parents warned of rise in whooping cough


PARENTS in Fermanagh and across the North have been put on alert after five babies died in England due to whooping cough. In worrying news for parents, there’s been a significant rise in cases of whooping cough, which can be extremely serious for babies. According to the Public Health Agency, there have been 769 cases […]

Blunder means free SWAH parking for the rest of month


YOU should always read the small print. That’s what officials at Stormont were telling themselves this week after a legislative blunder meant there will now be free parking at Northern Ireland’s hospitals for the rest of this month. Drivers visiting the South West Area Hospital in Enniskillen are sure to make the most of the loophole despite the congestion and […]

Fermanagh women take on the tower for cancer charity


THREE local women are taking on the tower and absailing one of Northern Irelands tallest buildings to raise funds for local charity Friends of the Cancer Centre. Supporters from across the North will abseil 190ft down Belfast City Hospital’s famous yellow tower block on May 11 and September 7. For 39 years, Friends of the Cancer […]

‘I’d rather die than go back to SWAH A&E’


A WOMAN in her late 70’s has been left badly shaken after a trip to A&E at the South West Area Hospital left her ‘emotionally and physically traumatised’. Following a harrowing isolated 12-hour wait, the patient, who went into the emergency department after becoming very short of breath said: “If I ever get sick again I will die […]

Another service gone at SWAH in Fermanagh


THE OPALS programme is not the first innovative and wide-reaching initiative to have been lost from the SWAH, with a preventative cardiology service also now no longer available at the Enniskillen hospital. A Freedom of Information request by Save Our Acute Services (SOAS), which was returned last week, revealed the much-praised ‘Our Hearts Our Minds’ service was removed […]

Fermanagh adventurer Alan sets sail for Aisling Centre


RETIRED outdoor education instructor Alan Currans is setting sail to raise funds for the Aisling Centre in Enniskillen. He is planning on travelling around Scotland and Ireland to raise funds for the Centre’s psychotherapy and counseling services. Alan is undertaking this voyage in memory of friends who died by suicide. “Between 2006 and 2015, my friendship groups lost four […]