Impact on Altnagelvin of removal of surgery from SWAH highlighted by councillors

The Western Health and Social Care Trust’s postponement of its consultation into the proposed removal of Emergency General Surgery at Enniskillen’s South West Acute Hospital has received cross-party support in Council.

Councillors raised the impact the move would have on Altnagelvin Area Hospital in Derry and the cross-border implications of proposed changes at Letterkenny University Hospital’s ED in Donegal. 

Welcoming the postponement, Cllr Caroline Devine (Sinn Féin) hoped it would give the Trust an “opportunity now to review the whole consultation process”.

“There needs to be a robust and meaningful public consultation that involves all of the communities affected by that decision. That includes the people of West Tyrone because they will be significantly impacted by the removal of the services there, especially in my own area around Castlederg,” she said.

“People have been left feeling their views and their concerns are not being listened to and they are not valued, so the onus now is on the Trust to rebuild public confidence and to listen to everybody that has been affected, through meaningful public engagement. 

“There also needs to be a plan for the South West Acute Hospital  that outlines how it will be supported to meet the needs of the communities going forward,” said Cllr Devine, whose observations were endorsed and supported by Ald Derek Hussey (UUP).

“There has been a tremendous backlash to the announcement [of the postponement of the consultation] and indeed a backlash to the nature of the way the face-to-face consultation was to be carried out,” he added.

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“It is extremely disappointing that particularly the first face-to-face  which was taking place in Fermanagh was postponed at the last minute. Folk were actually on site when that postponement was announced and further, the Waterfoot face-to-face was also postponed.

“I fully endorse the issue that the people of West Tyrone and indeed the Omagh end of Fermanagh - Omagh need to be part of that face-to-face consultation as well. The knock-on implications, not alone for South West Acute Hospital but for Altnagelvin have to be taken into consideration.

“Indeed consideration of what I understand are proposed changes to the emergency provision at Letterkenny  which will also impact further on Altnagelvin.

“So all of those issues have to be taken on board and I welcome that the consultation is to be revisited and perhaps this time they will be consulting properly on the issue and listening to the concerns of people.”