Independent Councillor for Erne East Eamon Keenan has spoken out following the Chief Executive of the Western Health and Social Care Trust, Neil Guckian's comments that he "wouldn’t raise expectations" in regards to the provision of a GP in Rosslea, following the announcement that a temporary arrangement will be put in place to sustain Dromore and Trillick GP Practice.

Speaking to The Impartial Reporter, Councillor Keenan – who is involved in the Save Our Surgery (SOS) Rosslea campaign – said: "The fact that the Department of Health can do that for Dromore and Trillick, there's no reason why they can't do it for Rosslea.

 

Councillor Eamon Keenan.

Councillor Eamon Keenan.

 

"[Mr. Guckian] is saying for us not to get our hopes up. But, you know, my view – and the people of Rosslea's view – is if it's good enough for Dromore and Trillick, it's good enough for Rosslea. We're not second-class citizens."

Councillor Keenan went on to explain that following Mr. Guckian's address to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, the Chairman of SOS Rosslea, John McCluskey, has contacted the Council's Chief Executive, Alison McCullagh, requesting to bring two people from SOS Rosslea to a Council meeting to speak about the current issues that the people of the area are facing.

Due to the lack of a GP in the Rosslea area, Councillor Keenan recently organised with the Western Health and Social Care Trust for the Farm Families Health Checks mobile clinic to be stationed in the area.

"We [brought] it to the Knocks area, and then it was in Rosslea. Then Aghadrumsee GAA [brought] it to their grounds a week after that, and it's going to Newtownbutler now in three weeks' time.

"They can take 14 patients in a day, where they take their blood pressure and do other health checks.

"I advertised the Rosslea day on Facebook, and straightaway the schedule was filled. We'll have to get it back there, because there's a massive need for it," said Councillor Keenan, noting that following a check-up at the mobile clinic, one Rosslea woman was told to see her doctor straightaway.

"She [previously] couldn't get an appointment with her own doctor, but when she rang the surgery and told them that she'd had her blood pressure checked with this crowd and was told to get an appointment, [she was seen].

"It turned out that she was on the verge of a heart attack or stroke, and she was put straight on blood thinners.

"That shows you that there is a massive need for [GP services in Rosslea]. What's happening is detrimental to people's health," he said, adding: "What we're going to be asking the Trust is, in the short-term, if the mobile unit can be used to service the likes of Rosslea and Newtownbutler, because there's a massive need for it."

SEE ALSO: Fermanagh councillors want more support for area's GP practices

Continuing their campaign for a permanent solution to GP services in Rosslea, Councillor Keenan noted that John McCluskey has been in talks with the owner of a building in the village with the possibility of providing a room for a doctor if one was available.

"He is speaking to the owner to see if they would give an agreement, in principal, to make a room or some rooms available if there was a doctor.

"If the Department of Health was able to get a doctor, at least there would be somewhere for them to work," he told this newspaper.

The SOS Rosslea group have also recently encouraged members of the Rosslea community to fill out a survey to outline their experiences of the GP services that are currently available to them.

"For example, some were travelling a 15-mile round trip to see the doctor at the surgery in Lisnaskea, some couldn't get an appointment, and when they did, it wasn't until two or three weeks later.

"Some were paying for taxis, and others couldn't afford the trip. So when they did get an appointment, it was two or three weeks later or stuff like that. These are some of the difficulties that they were having," said Councillor Keenan.

"What is happening in the Erne East area with the GP surgery is not isolated – it's happening across the North, and as we see in England, privatisation seems to be the direction it's all heading in with the NHS.

"One of the main things we would be calling for as a solution is an all-Ireland health service, free at the point of entry from the cradle to the grave.

"There's people in Rosslea at the minute who can't get an appointment in Lisnaskea, and they are going across the Border to a doctor in Knockatallon, and they're paying 50 euro for a check-up. It's not right," he told this newspaper.