Business employers join forces to stand up for Fermanagh hospital

July 2025

South West Acute Hospital.

Major business employers from County Fermanagh, that bring in millions to the NI economy, have welcomed the intervention of the Health Minister and Patient Client Council into the Western Trust’s handling of the consultation to permanently change emergency general surgery services (EGS) at South West Acute Hospital (SWAH).

In the joint statement, the business leaders who employ thousands of people in the region said the decision to pause the consultation was appropriate in light of the timing over the summer months, Stormont being in recess and lack of meaningful engagement with local people.

The joint statement said: “The time has come for decision makers at the Western Trust and Department of Health to meaningfully engage with the people of Fermanagh, hospital campaigners, elected politicians and the business community. The roadmap produced by Save Our Acute Services (SOAS) provides the vision that the Health Minister has requested alongside firm evidence of the need for SWAH to become a rural area hospital.

“Our staff and their families deserve healthcare they can depend on. Economic growth in Fermanagh depends on consistent, accessible services—from GP care to emergency response services, and for a long time the system has been failing. From a business perspective we require an invest to save approach not slash and burn.”

The employers also said it was important that the Trust’s consultation was put on hold while results of the Department of Health’s hospital reconfiguration consultation (Towards A Hospital Network) were yet to be published.

The statement continued: “This is a defining moment for the 300,000 people of the Western Trust. As employers, we have a duty of care. Our staff need access to emergency surgery close to home. The current process of transferring emergency surgical patients to Altnagelvin is deeply flawed and we know that current HSC capacity already fails to meet demand and is unable to facilitate a resilient ambulance system. This has been articulated repeatedly by respected healthcare professionals, regulators and trade unions.”

The business leaders’ concerns reflect significant alarms already expressed about the future of SWAH by Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, trade unions, and politicians at Stormont and Westminster. In recent days more politicians have criticised the Trust’s handling of the consultation process.

The business leaders have also thrown their support behind demands that the region requires a specific rural healthcare attention and focus on quality, safety and availability. This matches the Western Trust’s remit across a vast rural region, where one in four live in poverty.

Recent emergency care statistics reinforce the business sector’s concerns with the NI Ambulance Service missing average response targets of 8 and 15 mins throughout 2024/25, including for life-threatening 999 calls.

During the winter months, it failed entirely to meet 30-minute targets for critical 999 level transport cases.

The Western Trust has some of the highest levels of ED attendances per 1000 people with a tally of 49.9 recorded in Newtownbutler against a level of 10 recorded in Stranmillis in Belfast.

With the Department of Health yet to publish its response to the consultation on hospital transformation plans, the business leaders have urged the Western Trust to ensure local stakeholders are involved in fuller engagement and planning.

“Our teams and their families deserve consistent, dependable healthcare. For Fermanagh to thrive, we must grow both the local economy and the health services that support it,” the business leaders said.

“This consultation is an opportunity for all stakeholders to enter real dialogue about the rural health care needs of this area, its workers and health care services. We are calling on decision-makers to work together toward a model of care that meets the community’s needs, and which reflect the region’s needs and realities.”

The businesses that support this statement operate in County Fermanagh and employ thousands of people and bring in millions to the Northern Ireland economy. This list includes: