A consultant cardiologist based at the Erne Hospital said it was local doctors who first formulated recommendations for a new hospital to be based in the South West and not the health officials of the Western Trust or the Department of Health.

From an historical context, Professor Mahen Varma said it is important the public are made aware that it was the consultants in Enniskillen, who originally recognised the need for a new hospital and were pro-active in designing a service that would be 'fit for the future'.

'The consultants of this site, led by myself, decided to formulate these plans over 12 years ago and this should not be forgotten,' the professor said.

Last Wednesday Health Minister Michael McGimpsey unveiled a new sign for the site of the new acute hospital at Wolf Lough outside Enniskillen and confirmed the £267m hospital will be open for business by summer 2012.

Professor Varma, who has worked as a cardiologist in the Erne hospital for over 20 years, said he first sent letters to his colleagues in the neighbouring hospitals in 1998 to discuss the future improvement of acute services 'West of the Bann'.

'We were aware that the acute services review of health services across Northern Ireland was going to take place, hence we felt that it would be appropriate for us, who work at the coalface, to make recommendations to the Department of Health and the Western Board as to what would be appropriate in the south west of the province. On that basis, I took it upon myself, 12 years ago, to write to the medical director of Tyrone County Hospital and South Tyrone Hospital to have a meeting to discuss the possibility of a new hospital. Initially, we suggested that a very large single acute hospital should be built in the south west and be based on a greenfield site, which would be cost effective to the Department of Health. But we did not designate the site of the new hospital as we felt this would be more appropriate coming from the Department of Health and the Western Board. We wanted to have plans at the ready so that we could present this to the Hayes Review rather than having plans foisted upon us by either the Western Board or the Department of Health,' he said.

The Hayes Review was commissioned in 2000 by the then Health Minister Bairbre De Brun and proposed radical changes to the future of acute services in Northern Ireland including the removal of accident and emergency services from five existing smaller acute hospitals-one of those being the Tyrone County Hospital in Omagh.

Taking on board the consultants" recommendations the review panel proposed a new hospital for the south west be developed and built in Enniskillen.

It would be one of nine remaining hospitals offering emergency care in the province.

Although happy that work has commenced on the site of the new south west hospital Professor Varma stressed: 'People must remember the idea came from here. It didn"t come from the Western Trust, it didn"t come from the Department of Health, the idea of a new hospital originated here in Enniskillen from myself and from fellow medical professionals.'