Doubts of Rural Needs Act compliance


DOUBTS have been raised as to whether or not the Western Trust’s changes to services offered by the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH) comply with the Rural Needs Act. The Act was passed into legislation in 2016 in which a provision for rural proofing was put in place. Rural proofing is a measure to scrutinise […]

Patients dispute Trust claims


LOCAL patients have been contesting claims by the Western Trust that it is not its normal practice to ask Fermanagh patients to make their own way to Altnagelvin for surgery. Since the suspension of the emergency general surgery service at the SWAH in December, local patients requiring unplanned surgery now have to be treated in […]

Campaign for ‘New SWAH’ heats up


THE CAMPAIGN for a ‘new SWAH’ has hit the ground running in Fermanagh this past week, with tens of thousands across the county signing up for the plan in just a handful of days. The Save Our Acute Services group launched its new vision for the SWAH at Fermanagh House last Thursday, which included a five-point plan […]

Fermanagh over an hour away from life-saving surgery


UPDATED data from Save Our Acute Services (SOAS) has shown the average travel time for life-saving surgery for all patients in Fermanagh is now just under two hours. The group presented the figures at the launch of its ‘New SWAH’ campaign at Fermanagh House last Thursday, in which it outlined its five point plan for […]

Cuba could provide assistance in SWAH staffing crisis


WITH the Western Trust continuing to struggle to recruit and retain medical staff to work at the SWAH, help with the crisis may be on the way from across the Atlantic. Last week a letter from the Embassy of Cuba was delivered to the Council’s policy and resource committee, indicating the country could be ready to […]

Trust denies patients asked to make own way to Derry


DESPITE reports of local patients being asked to make their own way to Altnagelvin, the Western Trust has said it is not part of its normal contingency plans to ask patients to make their own arrangements. Since the suspension of emergency general surgery at the SWAH, local patients requiring non-planned surgical treatment have been transferred […]

Anger at removal of SWAH rheumatology


FERMANAGH patients have said they were “fuming” to find out rheumatology services had been removed from the SWAH without the Trust informing them. Around 400 local patients were on the books of the service – which deals with chronic inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis – at the Enniskillen hospital. The Western Trust has confirmed this service has been […]

Lifesaving neonatal unit saved at SWAH


THE neonatal unit at the SWAH is back up and running, following much hard work at the Western Trust, and the director who has driven this success said she feels it shows the Trust can “get it turned around with obs and gynae” too. In January last year the Herald revealed the life-saving had been slashed […]