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Vigil as time called on hospital | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
People who are acutely ill will no longer be treated in Tyrone County Hospital in Omagh. | |
Acute in-patient care at the hospital has officially ended. | Acute in-patient care at the hospital has officially ended. |
Those who suffer a heart attack or are injured in a car accident will now be taken to hospitals in Enniskillen or Londonderry. | Those who suffer a heart attack or are injured in a car accident will now be taken to hospitals in Enniskillen or Londonderry. |
Local people marked the end of an era on Sunday with a vigil. The Western Trust has defended its decision, saying it has struggled to recruit staff. | Local people marked the end of an era on Sunday with a vigil. The Western Trust has defended its decision, saying it has struggled to recruit staff. |
Dr Josephine Deehan, an Omagh GP and councillor, said: "I think when history looks back at this decision, it will be illustrated that this was a wrong decision and it really does represent a huge injustice to the people of Omagh and West Tyrone. | |
"Unfortunately, our people may pay for that with their lives." | |
Dr John McGuinness, a consultant anaesthetist in the hospital, said he had reservations about the way the decision had been implemented. | |
"The announcement was made...on 22 January so it took 38 days to effectively bring to an end 110 years of service to this community," he said. | |
Nurses transferred | |
Joe Lusby, deputy chief executive of the Western Health Trust, said: "The delivery of health and social care has changed dramatically for the benefit of patients over the last 10 to 15 years and the model of care that we are now proposing to provide will be much better than could be provided up to now. | |
"That's not taking away from the fact that the Tyrone County Hospital has provided outstanding services over the last number of years." | |
The Tyrone County Hospital's accident and emergency department closed two years ago. | |
Nurses from the Omagh hospital are now being transferred to the Erne and Altnagelvin hospitals. | |
The new acute hospital for the south west is due to open in Enniskillen in 2012. |