SWAH: Concerns raised over future of maternity services

A public meeting was held on Tuesday night in Belcoo Community Centre

Concerns have been raised about the future of maternity services at the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH) in Enniskillen during a public meeting.

It followed a report in the Fermanagh Herald.

The paper said several obstetrics and gynaecology consultants were planning to leave the hospital.

A doctor told the newspaper the impending departures meant they were unsure if the service would be able to be sustained beyond May or June.

A spokesperson for the Western Trust said is was committed to obstetric and gynaecology services, including all maternity services

Six consultants were on the rota, which they said remained "stable".

"Preparations for recruitment are ongoing," they added.

The assistant medical director described the rota as "compliant and staffed".

The trust is carrying out a public consultation following the temporary withdrawal of emergency general surgery at South West Acute Hospital.

It said the hospital's emergency department and other services including maternity and cardiology would continue to operate as normal.

Some obstetrics and gynaecology consultants, however, have raised concerns that the removal of emergency general surgery service would endanger their patients' safety.

As part of the consultation process a public meeting was held on Tuesday night in Belcoo Community Centre.

One member of the public asked Western Trust representatives: "Are you suggesting that the surgeons and the consultants and the whistleblower today are wrong to have those concerns or are you saying something is being done to mitigate that risk?"

The South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen has struggled to recruit and retain some specialist staff

The Western Trust said it had put in place safety mitigations following a review by the regional representative of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

The assistant medical director at the hospital, Prof Ronan O'Hare, said "obstetrics continues today as does gynae surgery".

He added that caesarean sections would continue to be carried out as they were not performed by general surgeons.

"Currently we have a compliant and staffed rota, a combination of substantive consultants and locums," he said.

"We are actively recruiting for consultants that have moved elsewhere, but the last round of consultants we did recruit for obstetrics and gynae."

Another member of the public said when going for routine gynae surgery a consent form lists potential complications, including a bowel perforation.

"Thankfully nothing happens, but I'm very aware that my gynae consultant would like to make sure that I am covered should this happen for routine gynae surgery," she said.

"I can understand gynae consultants' fears, I can understand their concerns at not having surgical backup.

"I can also appreciate that it has been difficult to recruit general surgeons."

Prof O'Hare added that the decision for the hospital in Enniskillen to be an elective overnight surgery centre would ensure a surgical presence who could be called upon "for life and death emergencies".

He said the hospital had five theatres, but two were empty as only three were currently commissioned and funded by the Department of Health.

"So if we had those running and commissioned then we could have surgeons there the entire time to provide essentially the type of cover that you are suggesting and me and my colleagues also requested," he said.

During the meeting a former special adviser to former Health Minister Robin Swann described the process regarding the suspension of emergency surgery as "shambolic".

Mark Ovens, who lives with his young family in County Fermanagh, said the consultation had been "terrible" with mixed and contradictory messages.