South West Acute Hospital: 'People will suffer' without emergency surgery

People in Fermanagh will definitely suffer if emergency general surgery is removed from a hospital in Enniskillen, a retired consultant has warned.

The Western Trust said on Monday that the service at the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH) was "fragile" due to staffing pressures.

Prof Mahendra Varma said there would be "serious consequences" for other hospital services.

The trust said other services were not under threat if emergency surgery goes.

There is funding for six consultant surgeons but there are only three at the SWAH and more surgical staff are set to leave.

Prof Varma was involved in the establishment of the hospital, which first opened its doors to patients in 2012.

The cardiologist fears that if emergency general surgery was moved to Altnagelvin in Londonderry, lives would be unnecessarily lost.

"They are bypassing an acute hospital, which has state-of-the-art facilities, to go to another hospital over roads that are far from satisfactory, and at least an hour plus journey," he said.

"It has been shown in the medical literature, the longer the journey to a hospital, the greater the morbidity and the mortality.

"So the people in Fermanagh will definitely suffer."

Prof Varma added it was "not an excuse that people are suddenly resigning" and accused the Western Trust of failing to recruit staff in a timely manner.

Geraldine McKay, director of acute services at the Western Trust, said they had become increasingly concerned at the "fragility of emergency general surgery" at the hospital.

Ms McKay said the three current staff surgeons were being supported by locums, but even that team may change soon.

"In recent days, we have been notified of forthcoming changes in the staff team which, unless restored, will leave it impossible to sustain a safe emergency general surgery service at the hospital," she said.

The issue was not money but the workforce and the challenge of recruiting and retaining experienced consultant surgeons to provide a service, the trust said.

Jill Weir, a branch secretary of the Unison union, said the fate of emergency surgery and its potential impact on the rest of the hospital was very concerning.

"We need answers so that our community can feel safe," she added.

Union Nipsa said: "It is clear that any cut in services will increase pressure on the other hospitals within the trust, further exacerbating the safe staffing crisis and putting the lives of more patients at risk."

In June, the Department of Health published a review of general surgery across Northern Ireland.

The report highlighted workforce difficulties on general emergency surgery sites.

It listed six key provisions that must be met to ensure 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.

The review also raised the potential for planned surgical hubs which would become centres of excellence while, at the same time, tackling waiting lists.

The Western Trust's chief executive, Neil Guckian, said the SWAH would make an "excellent regional centre" for planned or elective surgeries.

Cllr Paul Blake, from the SDLP, criticised the proposal.

"The trust can gloss over it all they want but all it amounts to is a glorified hotel and while people in emergency after 5pm have to travel from here to Altnagelvin to an already overcrowded hospital," he said.

The trust insists no final decision has been made.