The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) has written to the Western Trust to raise its concerns regarding ongoing claims that A&E services in the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH) are to be withdrawn. A reduction of A&E services would be inadequate to the needs of rural communities and would put lives at risk.
UFU rural affairs chair Jennifer Hawkes said, “It’s extremely worrying for rural dwellers that A&E services in the SWAH may be removed. We acknowledge that there seems to be a shortage of A&E doctors in the West but taking away that service is not the answer. The A&E department deals with a wide range of cases and often, that care is the difference between saving a life and losing one. A&E healthcare professionals are also hugely important for covering medical incidents outside of GP hours, otherwise there would be no urgent care service at all. Therefore, withdrawing this crucial service would be detrimental, forcing people who are unwell or critically ill to travel long distances on poor road infrastructure for essential care.
“Government must act to address this issue urgently, putting a strategy in place to improve the availability of A&E doctors rather than reacting by reducing hours of A&E service or removing it all together. The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) also has a role to play in solving this issue. DAERA must work with the Department for Health, local communities and other stakeholders, to address staffing shortages in health and social care in rural communities.
“As advocates for rural life, the UFU are also willing to assist, where possible, to attract labour to these areas in the short and long term to provide care for rural people. Our members enjoy living and working in Northern Ireland’s beautiful countryside and it should not be regarded as inferior to urban living. This seems to be the case when you have to defend the need to have vital hospital care locally.”
In particular, farming families would suffer significantly if A&E services were no longer available at SWAH.
“Farming continues to have the worst workplace safety record in the UK and Ireland, and unfortunately, farm accidents are all too common. It only takes a spilt second for one to occur when working with unpredictable livestock and high-powered technology, and the outcome is often determined by the length of time it takes to access hospital care. If a farmer in the very West of the province was injured on farm, he would have to travel two hours to Altnagelvin Hospital if there were no A&E services at SWAH. That is not acceptable. Farmers and rural communities need emergency treatment nearby. To take such a critical service away would have severe consequences," said Mrs Hawkes.
