“UNTIL you have ill health, you won’t realise how broken the system is.” That’s the message from a Fermanagh patient who, after suffering a suspected stroke, was sent home in the middle of the night without receiving a scan or a test following an 11-hour wait to be seen in the SWAH emergency department. Two days later the patient collapsed again, requiring another […]
SWAH surgery removal putting pressure on ambulances
THERE is concern the removal of emergency general surgery (EGS) from the SWAH is putting pressure on the local ambulance service, with hundreds of patients needing transferred to from Enniskillen to Altnagelvin last year. Figures obtained by Save Our Acute Services (SOAS) show that from January 2023 to January 2024 the NI Ambulance Service (NIAS) […]
Exodus of Fermanagh health workers moving south
THE local health service is hemorrhaging experienced professional staff, who are hopping across the border where they are getting “significantly” better pay for doing the same jobs. The Western Trust has warned of a “challenging” situation in retaining Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) in the local service, with over 40 staff leaving the area to go south over the […]
Fermanagh patient’s 25-hour wait for emergency surgery
A FERMANAGH man who recently required emergency surgery has spoken of his horrible experience of travelling to Derry and waiting over 24 hours to be treated for a condition his doctor had deemed to be very urgent. The man, who stressed he was not normally the type to contact newspapers with complaints, got in touch with the Herald after […]
SWAH Human Milk Bank makes fresh appeal for more donors
HAVING helped hundreds more babies across Ireland over the last year, the SWAH-based Human Milk Bank has issued a fresh appeal for donor mums to help it continue it’s life-saving work, with current demand “exceptionally high.” The only one of its kind on the island of Ireland, the team at the Western Trust run facility, which provides […]
Fermanagh outraged at ‘cultural issue’ comment
FERMANAGH patients are more than willing to travel for elective treatment, they are simply requesting equal access to timely treatment when it comes to emergency care. That’s the message from Save Our Acute Services (SOAS) following local anger at comments made in a report to the Department of Health which stated there was “a cultural issue” […]
Shelley takes on Stairway to Heaven with a little help
FROM learning to stand to learning to walk to now taking on a mountain. Michelle Cowan, known as Shelley, has been unwell for 26 years but has decided to take on the huge task of climbling Cuilcagh mountain, all in aid of her group JustUs. Speaking about her challenge, Shelley explains why JustUs is such a worthy cause. “I have […]
Making sure every voice is counted
FOLLOWING the deep disappointment when over 30,000 Fermanagh voices were recorded as one consultation response by the Western Trust, Save Our Acute Services (SOAS) was determined to make sure every voice is counted this time around. Early last year SOAS embarked on a passionate campaign to engage the people of Fermanagh with the Trust’s consultation on the removal of […]
‘We need to look to the future’ – Fr Brian D’Arcy
SECURING a bariatric surgery hub at the SWAH would be a “building block” to help sustain wider services into the future, officials from the Department of Health have been told. Among those to address the officials who took time out to meet with SOAS volunteers on Thursday, when the group travelled to Stormont to deliver […]
Junior doctors take to the picket lines
JUNIOR doctors in Fermanagh and across the North have begun their first ever strike action, taking to the picket lines this morning (Wednesday) as part of an ongoing dispute over pay and conditions. Anyone with a hospital appointment today is likely to have it rescheduled, with “significant disruption to hospital services” expected as a result of the industrial action, which […]