Fermanagh & South Tyrone MLA Tom Elliott recently hosted Health Minister and UUP party colleague Robin Swann on a range of local meetings and visits.

During his full-day visit to Enniskillen, Minister Swann spent the morning in the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH) meeting with staff, visiting a number of the SWAH wards and engaging in discussions, which included progress being made to deliver full provision of neonatal services locally.

After meeting with SWELL (Supported, We Live Well) – a Fermanagh-based peer support group for people with a cancer diagnosis – Mr. Elliott and the Minister concluded the day's engagements by visiting the NI Ambulance and NI Fire and Rescue stations in Enniskillen.

It was after the latter that Mr. Swann confirmed that six of the next intake of 44 on-call NIFRS firefighters for the region are going to be stationed in Enniskillen.

Mr. Elliott said: “I was pleased that the Minister accepted my invitation to come and spend a day in Enniskillen. Whilst Robin Swann has visited many parts of the Fermanagh and South Tyrone constituency over his two and a half years in office, I did appreciate him taking the time to once again come and meet with staff and engage on a number of local, pressing health matters.

“One such matter is the ongoing temporary transfer of babies requiring a higher level of neonatal care.

"Whilst the SWAH neonatal unit continues to deliver neonatal services to babies who require less intensive short-term care, due to a number of staff departures and difficulty recruiting, a decision was taken to temporarily adjust some services locally on grounds of patient safety.

"Thankfully, a number of posts have now been filled, but due to the requirement for specialised training it’s not yet possible to confirm when the unit will reopen to full capacity.

"I’m glad, however, that real progress appears to be happening."

Continuing, Mr Elliott said: "The SWAH is a brilliant facility –the most modern and spacious hospital in Northern Ireland – and the dedication and professionalism of its staff are well known.

"However being one of the smaller and more rural hospitals in Northern Ireland, it’s important that we highlight its many benefits and continued successes.

“That’s why, for instance, I was delighted Minister Swann was able to visit the Human Milk Bank, located in the SWAH, which helps premature and seriously ill babies.

"The local milk bank is one of only four across the UK, and the only one on the entire island of Ireland, and has helped many thousands of babies in its more than two decades of existence locally."

Concluding Mr. Elliott said: “I’ve known Robin Swann for many years and when he says he’s committed to doing something, I know he’ll be doing all that is humanely possible to deliver it.

"The UUP went into the [NI] Executive in January, 2020, with health as our number-one priority and that remains the case to this day.

"Whilst we were able to drive through the decision to restore pay parity for our health workers, and commence the largest increase in training places in a generation, after a decade of mismanagement and underfunding before 2020 there still remains intense pressure on the health service.

“Whilst we are thankfully through the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic, patients and our health workers, like everyone else, are also living through the spiralling increase in the cost of living.

"I know Robin Swann has a particular focus on the overall waiting times' position and whilst progress for the first time in very many years is starting to be made in bringing some of the lists down, not least through the greater utilisation of the SWAH for paediatric and orthopaedic lists, for instance, there’s still a mountain of work to do.

"That’s why, regardless of whoever takes over the Health portfolio in any new Executive, they will need to stick firmly to the objective of providing patients locally the health service that they deserve.”