The North's health minister has announced a stay of execution on services at a Co Tyrone hospital, which has been the centre of a political controversy.
Shaun Woodward announced a further six weeks' consultation on the future of emergency surgery services at Omagh hospital. He admitted, however, that he would be "amazed" if evidence emerged to make him change his mind.
He said £270 million would be allocated towards constructing two new hospitals in the Tyrone-Fermanagh area. "There is no dogma here, there is a genuine desire to do better. If something emerges which means what we are proposing can be done better, we will do it."
The consultation period will end on November 25th, with an announcement of final plans by the minister in December.
Emergency and major elective surgery could be consolidated in the Erne hospital near Enniskillen within weeks, but it would be April before the final closure of A&E in Omagh. Mr Woodward said Omagh would still have a hospital that would deal with 70 per cent of the medical needs of local people. His signal that services were likely to be consolidated in Enniskillen has angered campaigners and local representatives in Tyrone.
Danny McSorley of Omagh Hospital Campaign said he was "very angered". He felt let down by the Sperrin and Lakeland Trust and "by the minister now rewarding the trust for running services down". Local Sinn Féin MP Pat Doherty said the decision was "short-sighted and unacceptable".Independent Assembly member Dr Kieran Deeny said the minister had to come forward with a site for a "sustainable acute hospital" to serve the area.