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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
National
Lauren Harte

Public meetings taking place across Fermanagh over threats to SWAH emergency surgery

More public meetings will take place across Co Fermanagh over the coming days amid the ongoing threat of emergency surgery services being withdrawn from the South West Acute Hospital.

Fears have been expressed that the loss of emergency surgery at the Enniskillen hospital could lead to a further loss of services at SWAH.

While the Western Trust maintains that no decision has been made on the future of emergency surgical services at the hospital, it says consultant recruitment issues mean it must plan for the loss of the service.

Read more: Council votes for legal challenge in event of emergency surgery loss at SWAH

A meeting took place in Enniskillen on Monday night as part of the ‘Save our SWAH Servicescampaign, ahead of further public meetings later this week and major public demonstrations in the coming weeks.

Similar meetings took place last week in Lisnaskea and Derrygonnelly with two more being held in Garrison and Newtownbutler in the coming days.

The Garrison meeting will take place at Gillaroo Court this Thursday, November 10th, at 7.30pm while another is planned for the Courthouse Community Centre in Newtownbutler at 7pm on Friday, November 11th.

Everyone in the wider local area is being urged to attend these meetings, aimed at raising the awareness of the threatened removal of emergency surgery at SWAH and the devastating impact this will have on the local health service.

All the local public meetings are taking place ahead of two major public demonstrations on November 26th, when a "Ring of Steel" event is planned outside SWAH and on December 2nd, when everyone in the entire community is being urged to attend an outdoor rally at the Broadmeadow in Enniskillen.

Last week, councillors on Fermanagh and Omagh District Council voted to bring a legal challenge against the Western Trust in the event of emergency surgery services being withdrawn from the hospital.

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