Challenge to hospital decision

Challenge to hospital decision

Acute services are being taken away from Tyrone County Hospital

Hospital campaigners in County Tyrone are to seek a judicial review of the decision to site a new acute hospital in Enniskillen.

It was announced in February that Tyrone County Hospital in Omagh was set to lose its acute services in favour of the Erne Hospital in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh

Last week, the council's policy and resources committee recommended seeking leave to apply for a judicial review.

At Thursday's council meeting, there was broad party support for the decision.

Councillors have also said they will continue their campaign in the political arena.

They have had meetings with various party leaders to ask for their support.

Danny McSorley, chairman of the Hospital Campaign Steering Group, said the government had made "a thoroughly bad decision for all of the people of the rural west".

"It flies in the face of all the independent evidence and on behalf of the Campaign Steering Group, I welcome the council's decision to challenge it," he said.

"I hope this challenge will encourage the minister (Des Browne) to recognise the injustice done to the people of the rural west and that it will also send a clear message to the Sperrin Lakeland Trust to desist from any attempt to implement this unjust and unfair decision."

Meanwhile, in Fermanagh, the decision has been described as disappointing.

Campaigners there say a delay caused by challenging the decision puts the existing services at risk.

The changes are the start of a £500m capital investment programme in acute hospitals throughout the province.

The largest such investment in Northern Ireland, it is set to amount to £1.2bn over the next 10 years.

Announcing the investment on 24 February, Des Browne said the current profile of hospital services was no longer appropriate and too many acute hospitals were being sustained for the population.