Department pulls promo poster after omission of acute hospital
Enniskillen facility was not included in material aimed at healthcare students
THE Department of Health (DOH) has withdrawn a poster being used to promote employment opportunities in Northern Ireland after campaigners pointed out the omission of one of the country’s main hospitals.
Staff from across the department attended a careers event at Stirling University in Scotland aimed at attracting healthcare students to come and work in NI following the completion of their degree.
The map — used as part of the promotional material for the campaign — displayed NI’S five health and social care trust areas with a number of the country’s main hospitals marked.
South West Acute Hospital (SWAH) in Enniskillen was not marked on the map, while Altnagelvin Area Hospital and Omagh Hospital were included within the Western Trust.
SWAH was the only hospital in NI with a Type 1 emergency department not marked on the map.
The post was criticised by the Save Our Acute Services (SOAS) group, who campaign for the retention of acute services at the Co Fermanagh site.
“We are aware that management in this trust and in Department of Health have ‘moved’ so many services and ‘removed’ so many services from the South West Acute Hospital,” they posted on social media.
“It is bad enough that you have taken services away from us, but the fact that you seem now to have removed the hospital from your network is disgraceful.”
The group also raised concerns the jobs being promoted at Stirling University may not include the SWAH, but the department said opportunities at the hospital had been promoted.
“The staff present were showcasing Band 5 roles across the region, including opportunities at SWAH,” said a spokesperson.
“The image shown on the poster is for illustration purposes only and does not include all hospitals or recruitment locations in Northern Ireland.
“To avoid any further confusion, guidance has been issued to withdraw the poster from use.”
Social media posts containing photographs of the poster have also been deleted.
Emergency general surgery has been suspended at the SWAH site since December 2022. That temporary suspension has now been in place for almost 16 months.
A similar process undertaken at Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry has resulted in the service being permanently removed from the site.
The department has previously moved to allay fears that a decision on the future of EGS in Enniskillen is pre-ordained, insisting departmental approval will be required.
“While the department is satisfied that the Western Trust’s decision to temporarily suspend the service was taken on public safety grounds, as a temporary withdrawal of a service, the decision-making provisions rest with the Trust,” said a spokesperson.
“The temporary change has been subject to public consultation and the outcome of this consultation is available on the WHSCT website.”