Foster calls for urgent decision on acute services

Ulster Unionist assembly member Sam Foster has called for an urgent announcement on the siting of a new hospital in the west of the province.

Speaking after a meeting with representatives of the Western Health and Social Services Board today, the Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA said: "It would be reckless and grossly irresponsible for any minister to ignore the needs of the community.

"To take the acute hospital provision away from Enniskillen would leave Fermanagh people and their hinterland very vulnerable. It was be an irresponsible act."

The wrangle over the siting of a new acute hospital for the west has been rumbling on since the publication of the Hayes report on the future of health provision.

The deadline for the public consultation on the proposal runs through at the end of this month and the health minister had pledged to make the final decision before the end of the year.

However, it is unclear how the assembly suspension will affect that timetable.

Representatives from the two proposed locations at Omagh and the Erne in Enniskillen have made numerous representations to the health department on the matter and it was announced on August 7 that the two hospitals at the Erne and Omagh had been designated as 'enhanced'.

Mr Foster referred to the 'Developing Better Services' document, published on June this year, which said that the "the balance of advantage lies in locating the new hospital north of Enniskillen".

Mr Foster said that the Board had expressed its dissatisfaction with the present situation. He added: "I urge the department to make this decision very soon. It is the patient's needs which are most pressing."

In the meantime, recent comparative studies indicate that Northern Ireland currently has the longest waiting list for hospital beds in Europe.

In February it was found that local health boards were in breach of charter standards with many patients waiting more than 12 months for heart surgery – and up to 18 months for other procedures.

(GMcG)