Hospital provision in doubt

Brian Donaldson • Published 15 Apr 2010 10:09 0 Comments

Future provision of healthcare in the west looks more uncertain following revelations that the new acute hospital currently under construction outside Enniskillen will not open with the full complement of beds originally planned and that the new hospital in Omagh is seriously in doubt altogether.

The outline business case for the new acute hospital for the south-west indicates that there will be 269 beds once it opens its doors in 2012 rather than the predicted 315 beds as flagged up on the website for the new site. The fact that there will be 46 beds fewer will send shockwaves throughout the community campaigning for the hospital and vital services for the people in its catchment area.

However according to the business case, bed numbers are scheduled to rise over the following six years with 312 beds to be reached by 2018.

The difference in the number of beds will mean the difference of 50 nursing posts

The lack of bed numbers is an emotive subject even now. A number of doctors in the west of the Province already have experience of finding patients being turned away from the Erne Hospital because of a lack of medical beds available. For some people in the Omagh area, without an enhanced local hospital and with no beds in Enniskillen, the only option was Altnagelvin - not the original idea for provision of hospital services in the south-west.

The reason for the delay in the Omagh hospital build is cited to be finance. But yet this project was planned years ago and it was scheduled to be completed at the same time as the Enniskillen site in 2012.

The people of Omagh will feel rightly feel let down as they had already been disappointed when the acute hospital was decided to be built at Enniskillen. Even before any hospital opens its doors, the controversy over what will be provided within them has already begun and is likely to continue for some time to come.

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This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 15 Apr 10

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