BY AILEEN MURPHY
Patients who use Clogher Health Centre, which was destroyed by an explosion last week, have been reminded by the three doctors who share the building that it is business as usual, at a different location. They are now using their premises in Fivemiletown to ensure patients' needs are being met.
All patients can continue to phone their usual number for Clogher clinic, which will re-direct them to the Fivemiletown clinic, or they can phone directly on 8952 1326. The three doctors in the practice, Walter Boyd; Charles McKibben; and Sandra Elliott, through the 'Herald', assured their patients there was enough capacity in the Fivemiletown site to deal with the additional pressure.
Dr Boyd explained: "Everyone will be seen as normal in Fivemiletown. We have spare rooms there that we have been able to use, so it's business as usual, except for the inconvenience caused to patients who now have to travel." Dr Boyd also admitted that although a week had passed since the Clinic was extensively damaged in an explosion - believed to have been caused by a gas leak - there was still a profound feeling of shock among staff and patients.
"It has been a great shock, and we are all just grateful nobody was injured. Things are bad, but we realise they could have been a lot worse. I dread to think what would have happened had the explosion taken place during surgery times."
Dr Boyd also paid tribute to way people rallied round to help after the devastation: "Everybody helped out, staff, the community, the computer people etc., and it was due to their efforts that we were able to get everything up and running in Fivemiletown by Tuesday evening."
He also reassured patients their medical records were left unscathed following the explosion: "Our central records are safe," Dr Boyd added. He reported that structural engineers were still examining the Clogher building, and he is awaiting their reports before he knows if it will be necessary to demolish the badly damaged building entirely: "Everything will depend on what the engineers say, so until then we don't know if we have to entirely rebuild the surgery, or start looking for a temporary premises in Clogher, but at the minute we just can't make these decisions." The explosion erupted shortly after 7am, on Tuesday of last week. Although serious structural damage was caused to the building, no-one was in the Clinic and no injuries were sustained. Preliminary investigations point to a suspected gas leak in the kitchen area which triggered the explosion.
