Dr. Moti Rahman has retired from his role as Consultant in General Surgery and the Emergency Department following a 46-year medical career, which included 26 years in Enniskillen.

A native of Bangladesh, Dr. Rahman is proud to have been at the helm during the transition from a “small, primitive” Accident and Emergency department in the Erne Hospital to “a state of the art Emergency Department” in the South West Acute Hospital.
During a conversation with the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Mo Mowlam in 1998 when she visited the Erne Hospital in the aftermath of the Omagh bomb, Dr. Rahman told her they needed a new hospital.
He cites the greatest milestone of his career as moving from the Erne Hospital to the South West Acute Hospital in 2012.
After graduating from Dhaka University, Bangladesh in 1972, Mr. Rahman got his basic training there as a Junior House Officer, Senior House Officer in various departments and then as Registrar in the Surgical Department.
He then moved abroad to Nigeria in the late 1970s, where he worked for two and a half years.
In 1981, he moved to Dublin with a plan to pursue his Post Graduate degree from the Royal College of Surgeons. As well as receiving his fellowship from the Royal College, at the same time, he also received his Diplomat National Board in Surgery from the All India Medical Council, Delhi. 
He then worked in various hospitals in the Republic of Ireland until 1991 when he moved to the Tyrone County Hospital, Omagh, where he worked mainly in the surgical department. The following year he came to the Erne Hospital, Enniskillen to work in the surgical department. Because an independent Accident and Emergency department did not exist in the Erne Hospital at that point, initially he worked in the surgical department but also took care of the crossover of Accident and Emergency.
Reflecting on why he chose to settle in Fermanagh, Dr. Rahman tells The Impartial Reporter: “I was attracted to the town because Fermanagh is a beautiful county. The people are friendly. There is a lot of natural beauty. There were good schools for my children. And I wanted to live in a small town which was the same distance from Belfast and Dublin. So, combining all of those, I decided to stay here.”
Describing how he asked Mo Mowlam for a new A&E department, Dr. Rahman said: “After the tragic Omagh bomb, about 78 patients were brought to the Erne Hospital within half an hour. That was a key moment in the history of the Erne as all staff across all departments came together to help take care of the injured. 
“After the bomb, I had met Mo Mowlam on her visit to the hospital. She commended the work undertaken by the staff and she asked us: ‘What can I do?’ 
“I told her, you can see what a primitive A&E department we have; there’s no separate waiting area, hardly five or six chairs there. I said: ‘We need space, we need a bigger hospital.’ I told her: ‘Even if you give me space in hell I will make it a heaven.’”
 Dr. Rahman stated: “The greatest milestone in my career was moving from the Erne Hospital to the new South West Acute Hospital. We are very lucky to have a beautiful, modern hospital.”
Outlining the journey to the Emergency Department that exists in SWAH today, Dr. Rahman said: “A&E was not always its own department, it was part of general surgery. So, when I first came to the Erne, although I was a Consultant in General Surgery I was also the doctor looking over the A&E service as well. So I am immensely proud to have been part of the development from practically zero, to what we have today – a modern and fully fledged Emergency Department. 
“Although the facility was finally built, it is the staff that have driven the service forward,” he said.
“In the Erne, we did not have A&E nurses. Outpatient nurses used to look after A&E. We slowly built, first four to six nurses. Then, we appointed a Sister in Charge to work alongside myself, then we brought in 16 A&E nurses. 
“Now today we have a fully-fledged department with managers, doctors, nurse practitioners, trainee and student nurses, middle grade doctors, GP rotation doctors and several consultants. All of this along with the immense help and support from the medical records team, clerical staff and support services staff, the department is truly first class. 
“In addition, something I am so glad the department also has now is the help of Community Mental Health staff and Alcohol Liaison Officers.”
He concluded: “I am retiring from a department I am very proud to have been a part of. But a doctor never really retires so you may see me around the hospital from time to time.”
Dr. Rahman intends to rest and take it easy for a few months while watching the cricket. He also plans to visit friends at various locations around the world, including some from his student days in Dhaka.