Fermanagh and Omagh District Council has unanimously demanded that the Western Trust release data supporting its claim that suspending emergency general surgery at South West Acute Hospital has benefited patients. Councillors passed the motion after the Trust reiterated at a board meeting that the 2022 service removal had led to measurable safety improvements.

The Trust told its board that findings from the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority and an independent Caspe Healthcare Knowledge Systems review validated the revised emergency surgical pathway. Officials presented figures showing a 24 percent reduction in mortality, a 28.5 percent drop in complications, and a 22.5 percent decline in readmissions over the period from December 2022 to April 2025.

Senior officials described the changes as a necessary and evidence-based decision. They stated the current arrangements had helped stabilise emergency care, reduce avoidable harm, and allow services to function more effectively under pressure. They added that further benefits were expected in the months and years ahead.

Since the suspension, patients in the Fermanagh area who require emergency surgical treatment are transferred to Altnagelvin Hospital, approximately 54 miles from Enniskillen.

The council’s request followed comments by Councillor Adam Gannon at its June meeting. Gannon said Trust Medical Director Dr Brendan Lavery had claimed to possess data showing improved survival chances for Fermanagh patients, but the RQIA stated no such data existed. The unanimously passed motion instructed the council to write to the Trust seeking the underlying figures.

Campaign group Save Our Acute Services maintains the revised pathways are unsafe and unsustainable. Spokesperson Donal O’Cofaigh said staff themselves report the arrangements are not safe or effective, and there is a widening gap between the reality on the ground and the picture presented by the Trust.

The Trust’s board insisted the removal of the previous emergency general surgery model and the introduction of the current pathway had strengthened patient safety and improved clinical outcomes. It said the data clearly demonstrated those improvements.