Councillors at Fermanagh and Omagh District Council have voted to bring a legal challenge against the Western Trust in the event of emergency surgery services being withdrawn from the South West Acute Hospital.
While the local health trust maintains that no decision has been made on the future of emergency surgical services at the Co Fermanagh hospital, it says consultant recruitment issues mean it must plan for the loss of the service.
Fears have been expressed that the loss of emergency surgery at the hospital could lead to a further loss of services at the SWAH.
READ MORE: Western Trust planning for possible loss of emergency surgery services at SWAH
A motion tabled by Independent councillor Donal O’Cofaigh at Tuesday’s council meeting proposed that the council ‘investigate and actively pursue all available, legal avenues to defend locally-accessible emergency surgery and acute services at SWAH.’
An attempt at an amendment to the motion was made by Sinn Féin, which removed the explicit mention of a legal challenge and proposed the council ‘work together constructively’ with the Trust and the Department of Health on the issue.
A vote on the amendment saw 15 councillors voting for the motion, while 16 voted against, with council chair Barry McElduff granting the original motion had passed as a result.
Cllr O’Cofaigh said local representatives needed to stand for the ‘strongest possible action’ against the potential withdrawal of the service.
“I think it’s important that we as a council stand together on this issue, the community need us to stand together and we need to stand for the strongest possible action and opposition to this threat.
“This is a genuinely existential threat I think for this community if this proceeds. Once this goes forward the dye will be cast and the dominoes will inevitably fall.
“If we do not take that legal challenge, I fear we are not going to be on that front foot.
“I think we need to stand together, because if this goes ahead it doesn’t matter what community you are from, where you’re from, you’re going to suffer and we cannot have this happening to our community.”
Seconding the original motion, councillor and local doctor Josephine Deehan said she had ‘no doubt that this will be the greatest challenge that this council has faced in its tenure.’
On tabling the amendment, Sinn Féin councillor Tommy Maguire said ‘openness and transparency was needed from the Trust.
Cllr Maguire said: “What we need now is openness and transparency from the Trust, so the public understand the current situation facing emergency surgical services and what that might mean for other services.
“We need honest and clear assurances given to the public about what the Trust is doing to recruit the necessary surgeons.
“We all know the health system in the North is under severe pressure, and change will be required to ensure we meet the health needs of our people here and improve their health outcomes.
Cllr Paul Stevenson of the DUP said that others were ‘scaremongering’ over the issue.
“The scaremongering going on at this time will not attract anyone to think of applying for a position, if they thought that services were going to end.
“We need to be working in partnership with the Western Trust and the Department of Health, do all we can help with this situation.
“But we must bear in mind, that if the council proceeds to use legal avenues to fight this, there could be a big financial cost.”
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