Save Our Acute Services (SOAS) are pushing hard around Fermanagh to get their Five-Point Plan signed by as many people as possible as the deadline for Western trust’s Public Consultation on the future of Emergency General Surgery at the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH) draws nearer.

April 9 is the closing date for the consultation and while the focus for SOAS is on garnering support around the county, they are also looking ahead to what they will be doing once it closes.

Meeting have been held in various villages and towns in recent weeks, including Rosslea, Lisnaskea and Irvinestown, while the Five-Point Plan sheets have been seen in many buildings and organisations since it was launched two weeks ago.

Councillor Donal O’Cofaigh, who is a member of SOAS, said they had printed 20,000 copies of the action plan and believes the majority have been signed and it is now a case of collecting the signed forms.

“We are trying to encourage people to fill them out get all their family to fill them out send them back in,” said Councillor O’Cofaigh who has been enthused by the reaction of the public to SOAS’s plans for a new SWAH.

“I have to say the reaction has been extremely positive. They have grabbed the positivity, they have grabbed the intent that we have come up with some ideas that answer the question - what is our alternative?

“I think there is a recognition that there has been an involvement of consultants and medical specialists who have stepped up to provide support, even if they can’t make themselves known in many cases for fear, but that’s recognised.”

Looking ahead to after the consultation closes, Councillor O’Cofaigh said SOAS will be meeting with various representatives from different industries, such as tourism and agriculture, in Fermanagh to see how the loss of the service affects them: “A lot of workplace accidents can occur in those industries and one of the things we are going to do is engage with local employers and trade unions to try and work out how they need to change their plans if there are such accidents in the future.”

He said the group will also be planning to make the issue a focus of the upcoming local elections in May, while they will continue to communicate with the leaders of political parties: “We are continuing to meet with the party leaders.

“The uncertainty in Stormont isn’t exactly helping things but hopefully when we do finally get a Minister in place that’s locally accountable, we will see a determination to reverse the removal of this essential service.”

And he added that it is vital that SOAS and the people of Fermanagh keep up the fight to retain Emergency General Surgery at SWAH.

“We have got to continue this because if we don’t then they will just ignore us. So we have got to continue to keep finding new ways to keep this a fresh issue and a fresh problem because people continue to suffer the consequences of having this very far away.

“We know of many cases although they haven’t really been made public yet where people are suffering from this and we cannot sit back and allow this to become the new normal,” added Councillor O’Cofaigh who has seen the people of Fermanagh stand together to demand the service be returned and the “ambitious policies [are] taken forward to sustain and restore services at SWAH”.

 

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