THE Health and Social Care Board (HSCB) has been criticised for its choice of venue for a public meeting on the future of Enniskillen’s Stroke Unit.
A 13 week pre-consultation in relation to reshaping stroke services across Northern Ireland was launched on June 13 this year.
Although still only at pre-consultation stage, the mere mention of ‘reshaping’ our stroke services has already caused great public concern.
And the fact that the local public discussion has been scheduled to take place in Omagh rather than Enniskillen has only served to heighten the unease in the Western Trust area.
Sinn Fein councillor, Debbie Coyle, an auxiliary nurse with experience of working on stroke wards, has been spending the last few weeks trying to encourage members of the public via Facebook to get involved in the pre-consultation ‘discussion’ by either attending the meeting or filling in a HSCB form online.
But her words of encouragement haven’t quite inspired everyone.
“Interesting but not surprising that the public information meeting is in Omagh whilst the actual Stroke unit is in Enniskillen,” said one annoyed member of the public.
“Omagh don’t care if it closes Derry is as close for them,” added another.
Some however, had personal accounts of how the local stroke services have changed their lives.
“Would hate to see stroke unit moved my dad had a stroke 21 years ago and it’s thanks to the stroke unit in Enniskillen that he is still here today,” said one commenter.
“This is the exact kind of response that we should be feeding into this consultation,” said Ms. Coyle.
“Everyone is going to question why is the meeting in Omagh and not here in SWAH but as far as I can see across the North none of the meetings are taking place in a hospital setting. 
“And Omagh is between Enniskillen and Derry. It is important to remember that people from Derry are going to have to travel down to Omagh as well if they want to attend the local discussion.
“So yes it is a little bit annoying that we are travelling to Omagh but when it comes down to it, it is only up the road, for one meeting. And if you can’t make it to the meeting, ring or email, download the form and send it.
“The opportunity is there to have your voice heard so take it.”
A spokesperson for the HSCB told the Impartial Reporter: “During this pre-consultation phase, Health and Social Care organisations, in conjunction with stroke survivors, carers, charities and staff, are holding a series of meetings, engagements and workshops, to listen to a wide range of views and to discuss and debate how best to enhance stroke care.
“It is important to note that no decisions have been taken on any services.  This process at present is about gathering a broad consensus for the key proposals before we start to look in more detail at how and where services will be provided from in the future. Any changes to current services will require a further full consultation process.
“As part of a wider communications approach, presentations on the future of stroke services have been organised to coincide with Local Commissioning Group (LCG) meetings over the summer. The next meeting of the Western LCG, which rotates across the Western area, is due to be held in Omagh.
“Further public meetings, to discuss and debate the stroke service proposals, will be held in September 2017, the details of which will be confirmed shortly.
“NI Chest Heart and Stroke are also facilitating direct engagement with stroke survivors, their carers and families across Northern Ireland.
“The pre-consultation will end on Friday, September 15. Details about the consultation and how to respond can be accessed on the Board’s website at http://www.hscboard.hscni.net/stroke/.”