The Department of Health has called for 'respectful debate' on the future of health and social care services locally after a heated public consultation event on the suspension of emergency surgery services at the South West Acute Hospital.
Directors from the Western Health and Social Care Trust were interrupted on several occasions during Monday night's meeting at the Lakeland Forum.
The consultation event was the first of a number of meetings for the public in the Fermanagh and Tyrone area to have their say on the suspension of the service.
READ MORE: Fermanagh public vents anger at Western Trust in fiery SWAH consultation event
While the Stormont department refused to comment on what particular incidents prompted its statement, it stated 'questioning the honesty or motivations of public officials is not acceptable'.
"The Department of Health would ask for respectful public debate on the future of health and social care services," the statement said.
"Communities rightly value local services very highly and are fully entitled to strongly advocate for their retention. However, vigorous debate should not spill over into personal abuse and vilification. Likewise, questioning the honesty or motivations of public officials is not acceptable.
"It is a reality of modern medicine that every hospital in Northern Ireland cannot provide every hospital service. This has been set out in detail in relation to general surgery by the Northern Ireland wide review published by the Department last June - www.health-ni.gov.uk/news/review-offers-new-future-general-surgery-services
"Some medical specialties require larger catchment areas and a certain level of patient numbers. This facilitates greater specialisation by clinicians, better recruitment and retention of staff, and more durable and safer care.
"Securing the optimum distribution of hospital services – the right care, in the right place, at the right time – is an extremely difficult and challenging task.
The Western Trust declined to comment on whether it believed any of its staff were the subject of 'personal abuse and villification' at Monday night's event.
A spokesperson for a group campaigning to have the services reinstated at the Enniskillen hospital said it will continue to question the motivation of the public officials involved in the suspension of the service.
"The Fermanagh and Tyrone community is unwilling to accept being treated as second-class citizens. Our community believes it has been treated as collateral damage in the drive to centralise health services across Northern Ireland," a Save Our Acute Services spokesperson said.
"It is of paramount importance that our acute services are maintained at the SWAH to ensure the population of Fermanagh and Tyrone can access vital emergency services in a timely way and in an equal way to all other areas of NI.
"We believe the removal of emergency fails to deliver safe, timely, urgent and emergency care to our community."
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