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 suspected stroke patient sent home without scan


“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 […]


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” […]