A WELL-KNOWN Enniskillen woman has praised the staff and quality of care at the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH). 

Helen Lanigan Wood, a field archaeologist who served as curator of Fermanagh County Museum, shared her story in a letter after staying in the SWAH overnight. 

"I recently stayed overnight at SWAH, just long enough for me to realise, yet again, what a wonderful hospital we have in Enniskillen," Mrs. Wood wrote. 

"I was under the highly-professional care of consultant [name redacted] and his superb team: nursing and medical specialists, pre-op assessment nurses and then on to the excellent nursing staff charged with the recovery of patients.

"However, as it turned out, all I had to recover from were the effects of a general anaesthetic."

Mrs. Wood added that she was impressed by the "diligent" working of ward staff, including nurses.

"I learned quite a bit about the daily working of my ward and was impressed by the way the routine was adhered to so diligently," she continued.

"There was just one regulation that I couldn’t understand: the nurses who checked the condition of patients, their blood pressure and so on, were obliged to remain standing when writing down this information.

"Other nurses needing to input information on computer were, of course, allowed to sit down.  

"Given the long hours that nurses work, I would love to see those standing nurses being given the opportunity throughout the day, to rest their backs and limbs from time to time."

Mrs. Wood also said that she hopes to see Emergency General Surgery (EGS) resumed at the SWAH. 

"In [The Impartial Reporter] last week, [it was] reported that the Health Minister, Mike Nesbitt had replied to a request from Sinn Féin MLA Áine Murphy for information about the Department of Health’s plans to restore EGS at the SWAH. 

"We look forward to reading further clarity on this issue as well as news of the Western Trust taking action very soon to restore the EGS service to our South West Acute Hospital."