A LOCAL man has spoken out about about the length of time his elderly father had to wait to be seen by a doctor whilst attending the A&E department at the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH) in Enniskillen recently.

Vinny McGirr, from Trillick, was waiting with his 79-year-old father for more than five hours before a doctor tended to him after he was taken in to A&E at the SWAH on Thursday, June 17 following a fall.

"My father had a hip replacement a fortnight ago, then on Thursday morning he phoned to say he had had a fall. Me and my son went over, found him on the floor, phoned the ambulance and the ambulance came and took him off to A&E," Vinny told The Impartial Reporter.

"When we went into A&E, there were two nurses who went away and checked him, and said 'We'll go and get a doctor to get a scan'.

"This was before 6am in the morning. We were seen to [by a doctor] at 11.20am. We got back out again at 4.50pm."

He pointed out that he couldn't fault the care his father received at the SWAH.

"I have to say the staff, this time, ticked every box. Everyone who was there did their job – they were brilliant – but the problem was the waiting. My father is 79 years of age; that waiting takes a lot out of [him]," said Vinny, explaining that his father was sitting in a wheelchair while he waited to be seen.

"He was getting up to stretch himself, to make himself more comfortable. Thank God, there was nothing broken, but the man was still in pain.

"It would have made no odds if there was something broken – he still would have been waiting," he told this newspaper.

This is the second time within a month that a family member of Vinny's was impacted by the waiting times at the A&E department in the SWAH.

A few weeks ago, his son attended with a broken finger, and was advised to go to Omagh Hospital instead, due to high waiting times.

"My son – him and my wife went to A&E on the Friday [three weeks ago] and were told at 3.30pm: 'You won't be seen until 12 midnight'. And him with a broken finger; a cub of 14 years of age."

Taking the advice of the medical staff at the SWAH, Vinny's wife and son went to Omagh instead.

"They went down at 6pm and got out at 10pm. He was scanned; everything was quick; there wasn't that much waiting," said Vinny.

When asked by The Impartial Reporter to clarify the reason for these long waiting times at the SWAH's A&E, a spokesman for the Western Health and Social Care Trust (Western Trust),said: “Emergency departments across Northern Ireland are experiencing a period of extreme high demand.

“Across the Western Trust area, we are seeing a sustained increase in the number of patients attending both our emergency departments, and a high number of patients requiring admission to hospital.

“Our staff are working hard to ensure that patients receive the treatment and care that they need, whilst significant pressures on services have led to some patients waiting longer than we would wish for any patient."

The Trust spokesman continued: “To assist our emergency departments, we would remind the public that if you have a life-threatening condition, or are seriously ill or injured, then the emergency department is the place to go, without delay.

“However, for urgent care and treatment that is not life-threatening, there are other options available.

"The Western Trust's ‘Phone First’ service, via 0300 020 6000, across the area helps redirect patients from busy emergency departments to other more appropriate channels, including local GP services and community pharmacies.

“Our message is clear – please do not attend [A&E] unless you require emergency care. If you are not assessed as an emergency case, you may have to wait for a lengthy period.”