The Out of Hours service offered by Western Urgent Care (WUC) did not have cover available to operate six times in the past two months, it has been confirmed.

A WUC spokesperson confirmed: “Over January and February, there were six occasions in which a clinician was not present in the base.

“Clinical cover was available on all occasions as clinicians in other bases triaged patients from the Enniskillen area, by telephone and video consultation, to determine the best course of care for them.

“As previously reported, there are a number of issues which have impacted upon the availability of GPs to undertake work during the out of hours period, not least the requirement to care for patients during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“In more recent months, from last October to December, there was the additional pressure resulting from the annual flu and shingles vaccinations campaigns. These have since been followed with the Covid-19 vaccinations clinics for staff and patients.”

The service had similar issues last August, and reports were carried by this newspaper on the subject; however, WUC confirmed that there was adequate cover in place for the Christmas period.

The WUC spokesperson continued: “[We have] reviewed the data related to the clinical cover in place in Enniskillen between December, 2020 and February, 2021.

“Whilst the number of GPs and Advanced Nurse Practitioners working was slightly less than planned, WUC can confirm that there was clinical cover in the Enniskillen across the busy Christmas and New Year holiday period.”

The service had previously operated from the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH) but now operates from the Erne Health Centre due to the clinic space at the SWAH being utilised as part of the emergency department.

The service may return to the SWAH soon: “WUC are working with Trust colleagues in order to plan the return to the SWAH site.”

In the event of there being no further clinical cover in the Out of Hours service, the WUC confirmed that “should a patient have an emergency need, they will always be referred to their local Emergency Department”.

The spokesperson continued: “We would also look at offering patients with an urgent health needs an appointment in another base, such as Omagh, if it would enable them to avoid any delays.”