‘Communication with the public could have been earlier’

A WESTERN Trust Medical Director has admitted that the Trust would have liked the communication with the public over the ongoing situation with emergency surgery at the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH) to have been earlier, but said due to rules and legal requirements, this was not possible.

However, Brendan Lavery now says the Trust will have to fully engage with the public around developments at the hospital, going forward.

“It’s reasonable to state that if there is any possibility of any change in health care provision, there are a series of rules and legal requirements that the Trust has to follow, and that means that unfortunately our communication has not been as early as we would have liked it to have been.

“But equally, it now means we have to fully engage with the public and ensure the public that the SWAH is a very valuable place, and it continues to be a very valuable place for the Trust and region in providing healthcare,” said Mr. Lavery.

He continued: “One of the things is we all have to have a responsibility to give accurate information to the public, and that does include media outlets.

“Some of the things that have been in the newspapers, unfortunately, have not really truly reflected what is happening.”

He said that the vast majority of patients who go to the SWAH will continue to be treated there, and the suspension of emergency surgery does not impact elective caesarian sections or emergency sections.

“I do understand the anxieties here, and I do understand the disappointment of the local population. The vast majority of patients should still attend the Emergency Department, and the vast majority of patients will continue to have their entire treatment in the SWAH,” he added.

When asked when will the SWAH begin as an overnight elective centre, Mr. Lavery said it was out of the Trust’s hands, but they would have preferred it to happen before the removal of emergency surgery.

Mr. Lavery was also asked about the Council’s motion of No Confidence in the Western Trust Board, and calls for the Board members’ resignations, but would not comment.

However, when asked the same question, a Trust spokesperson said: “Our thoughts are not on resignations, but on how we can ensure that the community of Fermanagh and West Tyrone have access to safe and sustainable emergency general surgery.”