8 July 2026

The SDLP has secured the support of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council for the restoration of emergency general surgery at the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH). 

A motion from SDLP Fermanagh and Omagh Group Leader Councillor Adam Gannon called on Health Minister Mike Nesbitt to intervene and set out a timeline for the return of services.

Councillor Adam Gannon said:

“It is a matter of political will that emergency general surgery has not yet been returned to the SWAH. I recognise it would take time, but work could start now but that hasn’t happened. It feels like the Health Minister is preparing to ride off into the sunset and do nothing before the next election, like a team running down the clock in a tight World Cup game.

“We have worked with Save Our Acute Services (SOAS) to demonstrate the human impact of the removal of these services. Patients in emergency situations are facing long journeys across roads that are not fit for purpose to receive care. This takes a huge toll on them and their families in the most difficult of situations.

“There is nowhere else in the North that it would be acceptable for people to face these challenges to access emergency healthcare. The Minister and wider Executive must listen not only to councillors and elected representatives, but to the people in this area who don’t just want, but need these services restored.”

SDLP Leader of the Opposition Matthew O’Toole MLA said:

“The SDLP Opposition has engaged with SOAS on many occasions and we have made clear our support for the return of emergency general surgery to the SWAH, including directly to Ministers in the Assembly. People living in this area are not asking for special treatment, they just want to be able to access the same quality of healthcare as people in other parts of the North.

“For too long the Executive has failed people in the greater Fermanagh area and we will keep working with campaigners to see these essential services returned so that no one faces an unacceptable wait for care.”