Minister asks health trust to pause hospital consultation

The health minister has called on the Western Health Trust to pause its consultation on the future of emergency general surgery at the South West Acute Hospital (Swah).

Emergency general surgery was temporarily suspended at the Enniskillen hospital in December 2022, with some patients from counties Fermanagh and Tyrone having to travel to Londonderry for treatment at Altnagelvin Area Hospital, an hour and a half's drive away.

On 3 July the Western Trust's board agreed to consult on the permanent removal of the service from Swah.

The Department of Health has confirmed Mike Nesbitt has written to the Western Trust asking it to pause the consultation, as first reported by the Impartial Reporter.

A spokesperson for the department said the consultation was a matter for the trust, but any permanent change to emergency general surgery at Swah in the future would require approval from the health minister.

"The minister has been very aware of the ongoing and repeated challenges with the delivery of the recent consultation exercise," the spokesperson said.

"He engaged directly with the trust on the matter last week to discuss a number of concerns.

"Any change in service provision, and especially any proposed permanent changes, must always be guided by a clear desire to deliver and ensure better outcomes.

"The minister has asked the trust to use this time to act quickly to restore confidence by producing a vision plan emphasising how the South West Acute Hospital will be supported to meet both the needs of its current and future population."

Concerns about the consultation process had been raised by the Patient and Client Council (PCC), a body which represents the interests of the public in the health and social care system in Northern Ireland.

In a letter sent to the campaign group Save Our Acute Services (SOAS) earlier in July, the PCC said it was "disappointed with how PCC's early conversation with the trust has been reflected in response to concerns about the consultation, including in the media".

It said it had met with trust representatives on a "single occasion" In May 2025 " to provide early advice on best practice approaches to public involvement and engagement, in line with our statutory remit".

SOAS previously described the decision to consult on removing emergency general surgery as "absolutely disgusting".

A consultation event which was due to be held on Tuesday in the Killyhevlin Hotel was postponed.

The Western Trust said it took the decision due to the "anticipated numbers registering to attend and in the interests of public safety".

Fermanagh and South Tyrone MP Pat Cullen said Nesbitt's intervention "comes as no real surprise ".

"The public were left feeling that their concerns and experiences were not being listened to," the Sinn Féin politician said.

"The onus is now on the Western Trust to rebuild public confidence and listen to them.

"They also need to produce a plan for Swah which outlines how it will be supported to meet the needs of the community and the future population."

In June 2022 in a review of general surgery across Northern Ireland, the Health Department listed six key provisions that must be met to ensure that health trusts offered a safe service.

These include providing a workforce, a process and protocols which deliver a safe service, as well as quality assurance to monitor and gauge the provision of services.

Without all six in place, a hospital could not be expected to deliver emergency general surgery.

Emergency general surgery was then temporarily suspended at Swah in December of that year.

At the time, the Western Trust said the suspension was necessary to protect the public's safety after it had problems recruiting surgical staff.

At a trust board meeting at the start of July when the consultation was agreed to, the board was told it was"no longer possible to meet important safety standards at the Swah".

Campaigners said the loss of services and the distance and travel time, as well as poor transport infrastructure, put lives at risk.

Neil Guckian, the chief executive of the Western Trust, told the board meeting it was "not a rushed decision" and he understood the "strength of feeling" that this issue generates.

"We have over two and a half years of working under these pathways, working effectively with no concerns on patient safety," he added.

Mr Guckian said evidence showed that patients who need to go to Altnagelvin Hospital "have better clinical outcomes" and "no patient has come to harm".

By Marie-Louise Connolly, BBC News NI health correspondent

From the very outset this plan to change how some services are delivered has been messy.

Five years ago the local population said it felt the plan was being thrust on them with little dialogue or explanation.

Those feelings haven't changed.

In the meantime the situation has gone from bad to worse.

A vacuum was created where rumour often trumped fact.

In the meantime, staff left or weren't attracted to working in a hospital whose future was cloaked in doubt.

Could that have been avoided? Those campaigning against change argue it could have.

At this stage it's hard to see how this can be resolved.

What management are describing as "transformation" is being viewed by the public as a "shambles".

The bottom line is to provide safe emergency general surgery the system requires staff and at present those staff don't exist.

Emergency general surgery relates to the treatment of patients with conditions such as acute abdominal pain, infections, bleeding and trauma.

It includes operations such as removing a patient's gall bladder, appendix or part of the bowel.

If left unattended these conditions can become life-threatening.

Most emergency general surgery operations are scheduled.

According to the Western Trust, SWAH dealt with about five such cases a day and that was not enough to sustain a dedicated emergency general surgical team.