The Western Trust has said the mortality rate for Emergency General surgery patients has reduced by a quarter following the suspension of the service at the South West Acute Hospital just over three years ago.

The Western Trust has released new independent outcomes data for Emergency General Surgery services confirming ‘a clear and statistically significant reduction in mortality rate’ during the period December 2022 to the end of April 2025.

It noted that the temporary suspension of Emergency General Surgery at SWAH had been implemented as an emergency measure and a matter of public safety in December 2022.

This, the local authority said, was due to ‘significant and ongoing difficulties in recruiting and retaining the required consultant workforce, which meant that there were no substantive consultant general surgeons available to work on the emergency rota at the Hospital’.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 11/01/2021
An ambulance arrives at the Emergency Department at South West Acute Hospital, Enniskillen. Picture: Ronan McGrade/Pacemaker Press — PACEMAKER BELFAST 11/01/2021 An ambulance arrives at the Emergency Department at South West Acute Hospital, Enniskillen. Picture: Ronan McGrade/Pacemaker Press

placeholder image — PACEMAKER BELFAST 11/01/2021 An ambulance arrives at the Emergency Department at South West Acute Hospital, Enniskillen. Picture: Ronan McGrade/Pacemaker Press

This position was further influenced by the introduction of revised Emergency General Surgery Safety Standards by the Department of Health in June 2022, the Trust said.

Independent benchmarking through Caspe Healthcare Knowledge Systems (CHKS) carried out in January 2026 has confirmed improved outcomes for Western Trust patients relating to the period December 2022 through to April 2025 (2 years and 5 months), showing that Mortality has reduced by 24 per cent, Complications have reduced by 28.5 per cent and Readmissions have reduced by 22.5 per cent.

The CHKS have concluded: “Overall, the data shows a clear and statistically significant reduction in mortality rate for emergency surgery patients following the revision to surgical services.”

Western Trust Chief Executive Neil Guckian commented: “The independent evidence covering December 2022 to April 2025 confirms that mortality for Emergency General Surgery patients has reduced by 24 per cent.

"That is a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in survival. Patient safety was the reason for the temporary suspension, and the independent data demonstrates that survival outcomes have improved since that decision had to be taken.”

The Trust said it is fully compliant with the revised Department of Health Emergency General Surgery standards introduced in June 2022.

These standards were designed to ensure that patients across the North receive safe, specialist emergency surgical care, regardless of where they live.

Compliance has required a significant transformation of the Trust’s Consultant Workforce and the establishment of a 24/7 Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding Pathway.

Mr Guckian added: “We recognise that this remains a sensitive issue for many people. Our responsibility is to ensure that services are safe, sustainable and we deliver the best possible outcomes for the population we serve and this independent evidence shows improved survival outcomes for patients requiring Emergency General Surgery.

“In addition there are now 5.6 patients per day with emergency general surgery related issues who remain in South West Acute Hospital and receive same-day or next-day care through the Emergency Surgical Ambulatory Assessment Unit. A total of 2.5 patients per day require transfer for in-patient admission in Altnagelvin Hospital.”

The suspension of emergency general surgery at SWAH was announced by the Department of Health in November 2022 due to a shortage of consultant general surgeons.