TYRONE UNITES TO SAVE THE COUNTY
Tyrone unites to save the 'County'
BY ROSETTA DONNELLY
HEALTH issues as always remain an important priority and this year the threats to the Tyrone County Hospital future concerned many.
The recommendation by Maurice Hayes team that a new hospital for the Rural South West should be located in Enniskillen sparked a row that saw tens of thousands of people coming onto the streets of Omagh to protest.
The closure in June of two wards at the County sharply focused people's minds on what it would be like to not have a hospital and its varied services close to you. Eighteen staff were let go when Wards seven and eight shut and the nurses - normally accustomed to keeping a low and caring profile - took up a ferocious fight. A large crowd of nurses and hospital staff stormed a Council meeting to demand that the Council support them in their fight.
Chief Executive of Sperrin Lakeland Trust, Hugh Mills took the brunt of the public's anger over the closure of the wards. During a tour of the hospital with MP, Pat Doherty, he faced hostile protests from patients and hospital campaigners.
Such was the clamour from the public to get involved, two campaign groups were set up. HOPE comprised mainly of the nurses from the 'County', while the Hospital Campaign for the Rural West encompassed the Council, businesses, community.
Both had a common goal and petitions were gathered which were presented to Bairbre de Brun at the end of October.
In September the HOPE rally took place in Omagh where speakers included hospital consultants, college lecturers, doctors and councillors. The message to the large crowd was to not permit Bairbre de Brun to leave Tyrone without a hospital. The supporters were told to not be apathetic about the hospital campaign as each and every person had to do their bit to convince the Health Minister that Omagh people 'mean business'.
Their message certainly struck a chord as the second rally held on a Monday lunchtime drew a crowd of an estimated 25,000 people. Organisers were thrilled at the numbers which stretched from the courthouse almost all the way down to the bomb site.
Posters blasting Hayes for recommending that a new hospital should be built near Enniskillen, were carried.
BY ROSETTA DONNELLY
HEALTH issues as always remain an important priority and this year the threats to the Tyrone County Hospital future concerned many.
The recommendation by Maurice Hayes team that a new hospital for the Rural South West should be located in Enniskillen sparked a row that saw tens of thousands of people coming onto the streets of Omagh to protest.
The closure in June of two wards at the County sharply focused people's minds on what it would be like to not have a hospital and its varied services close to you. Eighteen staff were let go when Wards seven and eight shut and the nurses - normally accustomed to keeping a low and caring profile - took up a ferocious fight. A large crowd of nurses and hospital staff stormed a Council meeting to demand that the Council support them in their fight.
Chief Executive of Sperrin Lakeland Trust, Hugh Mills took the brunt of the public's anger over the closure of the wards. During a tour of the hospital with MP, Pat Doherty, he faced hostile protests from patients and hospital campaigners.
Such was the clamour from the public to get involved, two campaign groups were set up. HOPE comprised mainly of the nurses from the 'County', while the Hospital Campaign for the Rural West encompassed the Council, businesses, community.
Both had a common goal and petitions were gathered which were presented to Bairbre de Brun at the end of October.
In September the HOPE rally took place in Omagh where speakers included hospital consultants, college lecturers, doctors and councillors. The message to the large crowd was to not permit Bairbre de Brun to leave Tyrone without a hospital. The supporters were told to not be apathetic about the hospital campaign as each and every person had to do their bit to convince the Health Minister that Omagh people 'mean business'.
Their message certainly struck a chord as the second rally held on a Monday lunchtime drew a crowd of an estimated 25,000 people. Organisers were thrilled at the numbers which stretched from the courthouse almost all the way down to the bomb site.
Posters blasting Hayes for recommending that a new hospital should be built near Enniskillen, were carried.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/0912
Published Date: 03-Jan-02
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