The Western Trust has defended its public consultation on the suspension of emergency general surgery at the South West Acute Hospital after a campaign group attempting to save the services branded it a ‘sham’
The services were suspended at the Co Fermanagh hospital in December as part of what the Trust says is a temporary, unplanned change.
A public consultation on the change began last week, one month after the service was withdrawn by the Trust, who said consultant staffing numbers had reached unsafe levels.
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The Enniskillen hospital has been announced as an Overnight Elective Centre as part of Department of Health Plans to cut waiting lists in Northern Ireland.
Spokesperson for campaign group Save Our Acute Services and local councillor Donal O’Cofaigh said he believed the consultation was simply a ‘box-ticking exercise’.
O'Cofaigh described the consultation exercise, which he said took place after the service was removed, as a sham. He said it was "a box-ticking exercise if ever there was one."
“But worse it is based on the notion that this is only a temporary closure - but one that the Trust considers to be the best possible result.
“As a consolation for being forced to travel to Altnagelvin in case of needing emergency surgery, we are being reassured with the consolation prize of an overnight elective hub that will help reduce the Northern Ireland-wide waiting lists.
O’Cofaigh also said he believed the ticket only public meetings set up by the Trust as part of the consultation would exclude people who do not want to provide details such as their address and occupation.
He added that he believed it was the Trust’s responsibility to come up with solutions for the return of emergency general surgery to the hospital.
“If a member of the public disagrees with the removal of emergency general surgery from SWAH they are asked to tell the Trust what should be done instead.
“It is the Trust's responsibility to come up with solutions not that of the general public - and they are well enough paid to do that.”
Defending its public consultation on the issue, the Trust said its consultation process was ‘significant’, with seven public facing meetings and two virtual meetings to be held across Fermanagh and West Tyrone.
“The Trust has worked with Fermanagh and Omagh District Council colleagues in the planning for these events and to ensure everyone in the area gets the opportunity to have their voices heard,” a spokesperson said.
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“This significant series of consultation engagements can cater for a potential attendance of over 4000 people.”
However, the Trust added that it has now simplified its process for registering for the events, with only a name and an email address required to receive a ticket.
“It has been very important to note that access to public facing events must be by ticket only to ensure public safety and the online registration at Eventbrite has been now been simplified for ease of use,” the spokesperson added.
“For those who may find it difficult to register online, the Trust will hold some manual tickets for residents and further information will be provided on this in the coming days on how to access these.”
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