Continued threat to local NHS services

The campaigns waged by organisations such as Fermanagh Save Our Services, Save Our SWAH and the Stroke Survivors have been instrumental in defending local services including the Stroke Department and Neonatal unit at Southwest Acute Hospital – to date. We cannot assume that there will not be further moves to undermine these vital services in the future however.

The consultation on the rationing of Stroke Departments is now more than a year overdue – likely reflecting the unprecedented and repeated mass mobilisations by the community here against the threat. Three times we have now witnessed almost one thousand people crowd into the Killyhevlin Hotel to say no to the closure of our local services. Despite this Stormont remains intent on proceeding with the cutback agenda – so sadly we can anticipate that when the conclusions are made public the threat is likely to return.

Similarly moves to close the neonatal unit in SWAH were only defeated through mass mobilisations which broke the back of the Trust on this issue but in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic both the neonatal unit and the wider children’s ward were removed from Enniskillen. 

I was able to reveal a public commitment given to me by Chief Executive Dr Anne Kilgallen that the Trust would return the service as quickly as possible and then to confirm the return date as being May 25th. 

So while the services have returned, the threat to the neonatal unit continues – by extension this extends to the viability of our maternity service which would be undermined through loss of this important unit.

We must remain vigilant. Recently I publicly challenged the Department of Health on their move to give themselves special Covid powers for a two-year period including an ability to close services without consultation. The fear must be – as I stated in the council – that the Department will use the Covid crisis as an excuse to drive forward all the ‘reforms’ they have sought over a decade ‘never let a good crisis go to waste’.

Unfortunately, while I obtained the support of independents in the council, all the mainstream parties voted down a proposal for Fermanagh & Omagh District Council to take a strong stand against this power grab. This is a hugely concerning outcome which has been condemned widely by local campaign groups – the Trusts themselves have expressed concern and not without reason but it appears the parties are as one on the need for ‘hard decisions’ to be made. In the absence of strong resistance by the council, we may be forced to mount mass-campaigns once again to defend our local NHS services from the threat of cutbacks, privatisation and outsourcing.