Waiting times for urgent neurological appointments in the Western Health and Social Care Trust have been described as a "crisis" at a meeting of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council at the Grange Omagh this week.

Councillors were responding to correspondence from Chief Executive of the WHSCT, Anne Kilgallen in which Dr. Kilgallen revealed that there was "a significant gap in capacity for neurology in the West."

Council had written to Dr. Kilgallen following a meeting of the Fermanagh and Omagh Social Care Group where the waiting time figures were revealed and asked that "urgent action be taken" in order to "accelerate appointments across all three hospitals" in the area.

The waiting times for neurological appointments at South West Acute Hospitals is 18 months for urgent patients and almost three and a half years for outpatients. At Omagh Hospital and Primary Care Complex the wait times are 11 weeks for urgent and over three years for outpatient, and at Altnagelvin the wait is three years for urgent patients and almost four years for outpatients.

In her reply to Council Dr. Kilgallen stated that there had been an announcement made by the Department of Health that a review of neurology services would be undertaken and that the first meeting had been held on December 11 2018.

Commenting on Dr. Kilgallen's letter Independent Councillor Anne Maire Deehan said she was "very disappointed."

Councillor Deehan, who is a doctor, said that she would consider the waiting times "to be a crisis".

She went on to say that the news of the review into neurology was of "cold comfort for patients."

"An initial report is not expected until March with the final report not until the summer. We cannot wait until then to begin to take action. It is a matter of huge concern and I would urge Council to write back to say and this is unacceptable and that we cannot wait for the review. A waiting list initiative needs to be put in place immediately," Councillor Deehan explained.

An explanation of the huge discrepancies in waiting times between SWAH and Omagh Hospital was explained at the meeting of the Fermanagh and Omagh and Social Care Group last year. In the former the wait for an urgent appointment is 18 months and in the latter 11 weeks.

"The significant difference in waiting times in the Omagh Hospital and Primary Care Complex and SWAH for urgent patients was due to the Services in Omagh being delivered by a member of staff from within the WHSCT who was located in Altnagelvin Hospital, however, in Enniskillen the clinics were delivered from Belfast," Ms Geraldine McKay, Director of Acute Services told the meeting.

Councillor Deehan's motion was seconded by Victor Warrington, UUP.