Surgery at Enniskillen hospital was simply dying, says consultant
- Published
The South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen has struggled to recruit and retain some specialist staff
A consultant who worked at the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH) in Enniskillen told colleagues that surgery there was "simply dying".
Emergency general surgery at SWAH was temporarily suspended in December.
It means patients with acute abdominal pain who may require surgery are being transferred to Altnagelvin.
The Western Health Trust said the unplanned change was necessary after it had problems recruiting and retaining surgical staff.
BBC News NI has seen an email sent by a consultant surgeon to his colleagues on the day he left SWAH just before Christmas.
'What a pity'
He told them in the seven months he worked in Enniskillen he had not once had access to the main operating theatre.
"What was the common sense to employ a consultant general/colorectal surgeon not giving him an access to the operating theatre?" he wrote.
"I realise after three-four months of staying here that the surgery in this hospital is simply dying and it's probably a long-standing process
"What a pity - a beautiful, contemporary, well-equipped building, nice and open-minded staff.
"What a pity for the patients, for the all the employees, what a pity for the community. But that's life."
The consultant said he would be very happy come back to Enniskillen "if things change and proper surgery would be again possible here".
'We've done all we can'
The Western Trust Chief Executive Neil Guckian told BBC News NI it had been a challenging time.
He said the trust was "still rebuilding from Covid" and there had been "great frustrations" for general and orthopaedic surgeons.
"It's a real problem for us and we are rebuilding gradually - we will get there I can assure you," he said.
"The minister issued new standards for emergency general surgery in June 2022 and we are struggling to adhere to those standards - I would accept that.
"But we've done all we can do to sustain emergency general surgery in the South West Acute Hospital."
The trust has announced that the first regional overnight elective stay procedures will be carried out at South West Acute Hospital in the coming weeks.
This will involve surgeons from across Northern Ireland using the theatres in Enniskillen to carry out planned operations to reduce waiting lists.
The first procedures will be gall-bladder operations where some people have been waiting more than four years.
Prof Mark Taylor, chair of the Review of General Surgery, will be the first visiting surgeon from another trust to operate in Enniskillen as part of the new arrangement.
"It is essential that we utilise all existing capacity to continue the recovery of elective surgery," Prof Taylor said.
"Too many people are sitting on long waiting lists and we know such individuals are willing to travel.
"The Review of General Surgery also pledged that surgeons would travel in order to greatly improve the situation with elective surgery.
"The theatres are first class in SWAH and I and my colleagues look forward to working with such a dedicated staff going forward."
The future of emergency general surgery at SWAH is now the subject of a 12-week public consultation and Mr Guckian told BBC News NI he could not say if it was the end of the service.
Mr Guckian said the trust would be looking to the public for ideas which it might have overlooked.
"At the end of the day we don't know what we don't know, so we will listen," he said.
"Any opportunity to listen to our population will be seized by the trust and we are running a series of public events, face-to-face and indeed online and it will give us an opportunity to explain ourselves as well."
- Published17 January 2023
- Published20 November 2022
