BY MARK MCKELVEY
THE new Western Health and Social Care Health Trust received a clear message that the fight for safer health care provisions will continue in West Tyrone when it held its first board meeting on Thursday.
If the WHSCT hadn't already realised the extent of opposition and lack of confidence created by the former Sperrin Lakeland Trust throughout Tyrone, they quickly realised when the meeting was greeted with a 15 to 20 strong assemblage who converged to illustrate fully the fervent resistance in this area.
WHSCT Chairman Gerard Guckian made it clear in his opening address that the new organisation will be transparent in the way it delivers "the optimum standard of care for all the people in the west".
Mr Guckian said, "We have been chosen to lead this organisation at a time that is viewed as exceptionally problematic. All change is difficult but the prizes could be great; we have the opportunity to make a real difference to the lives of our patients and clients.
"Our aim is to provide safe, quality care in the most appropriate setting, with the most up-to-date equipment, with qualified hard working staff who are our most valuable asset, accepting nothing less than the optimum level of care. We can do this by actually listening to the people we care for, but not only must we listen we must actually hear and take into regard what they are saying."
The WHSCT chairman concluded by declaring, "That deliverance starts today."
Following this optimistic declaration, two Omagh hospital campaigners made it bluntly clear what the people in Tyrone wanted and expected from this new Trust as Omagh Town Cllr Ross Hussey and Independent MLA Dr Kieran Deeny had been given speaking rights at the meeting.
Both campaigners outlined their grievances with health care provisions, particularly those services removed and under threat at the Tyrone County Hospital.
Cllr Hussey stated, "We in Tyrone are suspicious of the department, this new Trust has to gain and earn our respect and you also know that there is little trust between us as we feel at every opportunity services have been removed from Tyrone on a whim."
"Since I first entered the political arena my goal was to achieve the retention of acute services in the TCH. That goal has not been achieved but my determination to fight for this service has not been weakened at any time in the past two years and you can be rest assured that as the SLT has now headed off into the sunset that the fight goes on."
At this junction of Cllr Hussey's impassioned speech, there was an outpouring of emotion from the travelling Omagh delegation, cheering and applauding these words.
In outlining many of the health care problems in West Tyrone Dr Deeny stated he will be holding this new Trust accountable and will consider them "legally responsible" if a mother or child dies as a result of the "primitive and third world facilities" that exist in Tyrone due to the removal of vital maternity and paediatric services from the County.
He continued to say, "The idea of moving people west to stabilise in an emergency situation before then transferring those patients east again to Belfast is putting lives at risk when those patients could easily be stabilised in Omagh.
"I am making this clear to the Trust now as a GP, no matter what you do in Enniskillen, and they must be looked after too, but our patients will not be used to prop up the Erne Hospital."
