Hundreds of Fermanagh people turned out to a demonstration outside Enniskillen Town Hall on Tuesday to protest against the Western Trust’s handling of the suspension of services at the South West Acute Hospital.
The demonstration was organised by the Save Our Acute Services campaign group ahead of its appearance at a special council meeting on the issue.
Despite heavy rain at the Diamond, a noisy crowd cheered on speeches by SOAS chair Reggie Ferguson and local clergyman Fr Brian D’Arcy.
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The Western Trust is currently carrying out a public consultation into emergency general surgery at the hospital, which has been suspended since December due to difficulties in recruiting surgeons.
It has been reported that maternity services may also be under threat at the hospital due to consultant staffing levels, something the Trust has denied.
“It never ceases to amaze me, the quality of people in Fermanagh and Tyrone,” Mr Ferguson said at the demonstration.
“This is our hospital that we are looking to maintain, to increase and have as a showpiece for hospitals in Northern Ireland.
“They are trying to tell us that we don’t deserve the quality of services as the rest of Northern Ireland. We will not accept that.
“We are going in with a message of determination and a message of hope.
“I’m fed up listening to this doom and gloom about how difficult it is to work there at the moment. Let’s change all that, let’s make nurses and other staff proud and keen to work in the hospital.”
Ahead of addressing the special meeting of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, Fr Brian D’Arcy said the campaign group’s efforts were backed by experts.
“We’re not going in here as rabble rousers, we are going in here with the value of research and science telling us that we need a hospital here,” he said.
“Fermanagh is a special case, we have been silent for too long. We have the best hospital that there is in Ireland and I’ve been in most of them.
“And we have the best staff who are being treated horribly by the Western Trust.
“Every single person has a right to good health, a right to a good health service.
“If we don’t stand up, there will not be a person in Fermanagh and most of Tyrone who will be within the golden hour.
“That means if you or I have an accident or a heart attack or whatever it is, we’ll be dead by the time we get to Derry.
“We need to fight together, it’s for our future, it’s for our families…we definitely need to work together, because if it closes we’ll never get it back.”
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