FERMANAGH and Omagh district councillors have expressed their fears about the future of the Stroke Unit at the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH), despite receiving a letter from the Health Minister stating that there are no plans to close it.

In correspondence sent to the local authority dated August 18, Minister of Health Michelle O’Neill stated that the Western Health and Social Care Trust had “no plans” to close the facility at the SWAH, just outside Enniskillen.

However, when the letter was discussed at the September monthly meeting of the council, it was the information contained in the next paragraph of her correspondence that prompted most concern among local elected representatives.

The Health Minister then stated that a regional review of stroke services had been undertaken by the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA).

She added: “Furthermore, my Department is working with the Health and Social Care Board (HSCB) and Public Health Agency (PHA) on developing a new model for stroke services in light of the RQIA’s recommendations. Following public consultation, I will make a decision regarding the implementation of the new model.”

Erne West councillor, Alex Baird, told the chamber that the letter made for “interesting reading”.

He said: “I’m afraid I’m not reassured in any way that stroke services will be retained in the SWAH. I understand there are plans to have an English model, being one stroke centre in each Trust area.”

Mr Baird said that five to 10 per cent of strokes required a clot being removed.

“If there is only going to be one stroke centre in the area, and the possibility that it will be Altnagelvin, then people will have to travel from the South West up to Altnagelvin, be assessed and then go on to the Royal Victoria Hospital in the cases where the clot removal is done,” he said.

“I’m not having a pop at the Minister. I’m just not reassured that stroke services will be retained. They need to be retained and they must be retained for the convenience of us all,” the UUP representative added.

Independent councillor Bernice Swift said she was “certainly not convinced” by the Minister’s letter.

“This issue isn’t about numbers, it’s definitely about patients,” she said.

Warning that “every minute counts”, the independent councillor said: “We have been told that in every minute lost, 1.3 million brain cells die. It’s not good enough that any of our patients would have to suffer because they are being moved about unnecessarily and it makes absolutely no sense that this city model that is supposed to be proposed would be implemented in our area.

“I will be thwarting it at all levels, so I think at this point it’s incumbent on us to contact the necessary departments and find out exactly who is making this review and we want to know and be prepared what recommendations they may be putting in place,” she added.

Erne North councillor, Raymond Farrell, who initially got the local authority to contact the Health Minister over the issue, said it was “really, really so important” that the local facility was retained.

He said: “If you were telling anybody that the second-most effective stroke unit in Europe, that the future of it is under question, I think people would have a long, hard look at you and say what is wrong with you.

“Stroke is a medical emergency. Time is of the essence and it is essential and it is vital that the stroke unit is maintained, enhanced and indeed developed so that we give our patients the very best in this region.”

Enniskillen councillor, Debbie Coyle, said it was vital that both the SWAH and Altnagelvin kept their services to give the emergency treatment that people needed.

“I think it’s really important that we’re fighting to keep the units in Altnagelvin and Enniskillen, because the same way we don’t want to travel up there, it’s going to be pointless for people up that end travelling down to Enniskillen,” she said.