Following a meeting on Thursday 7 May 2026, Trust Board has now approved the next steps in the process for the Fermanagh and West Tyrone Health and Care Futures Vision programme.
The Western Trust is progressing the development of a new Vision for future health and care services in Fermanagh and West Tyrone, following a period of comprehensive engagement with staff and a wide range of stakeholders between October 2025 and April 2026. Details of this next phase of vision engagement, including the timeline, are provided below.
Background to this Vision Engagement work
On 7 October 2025, Trust Board approved the closure of the Public Consultation on Emergency General Surgery and formally agreed to an approach, enabling a sequence of steps towards the design and development of a vision plan, which would include specific work on SWAH, and which would be people and place based, focusing on Health and Care needs in Fermanagh and West Tyrone. This decision followed a request by the Health Minister for the Trust to develop a “forward-looking Vision Plan” for health and care services across Fermanagh and West Tyrone, and to include a focus on South West Acute Hospital.
This work is not about a single service. It is about taking a whole-system view of how the South West Acute Hospital and community services can work together to provide safe, sustainable and high-quality care.
Like the rest of Northern Ireland, we are experiencing increasing demand, changing demographics and growing complexity in how care is delivered. The Minister has been clear that change is necessary to ensure services remain safe and sustainable into the future.
The Vision will set out how hospital and community services can work together to meet the needs of a changing and growing population. As is the case across Northern Ireland, rising demand and increasing complexity mean change is required to ensure services remain safe, sustainable and high quality.
As agreed by Trust Board, there will be several important dependencies in this work, which will include:
- Identification of population health needs and future projections
- Consideration of primary care and community care interfaces
- Research evidence on the role of rural hospitals
- DoH policy developments on Neighbourhood Model
- Enhanced public engagement & involvement
Comprehensive early engagement with stakeholders
Between October 2025 and April 2026, the Trust undertook an extensive programme of stakeholder engagement to provide updates, listen to feedback and gather insight to inform the next steps.
This included engagement with public representatives across all political parties, MLAs, MPs and local councils. The Trust also met with the Fermanagh Business Stakeholders Group and Save Our Acute Services on two occasions (19 December 2025 and 6 February 2026).
The Trust remains committed to meaningful and ongoing engagement, ensuring that the views of staff, communities, partners and elected representatives help shape the Vision.
Next phase: Formal Engagement programme and timeline
The next stage will include a structured programme of engagement from June to September 2026. The Trust is working closely with Fermanagh and Omagh District Council to support delivery through a wider community engagement model.
Established community planning structures will be utilised, including the Integrated Wellbeing Network and the Community and Voluntary Sub-Group, helping ensure engagement reflects the diversity of the population, including Section 75 groups.
A number of further engagements with public representatives (MLAs, MPs and councils) will also take place during this period.
As part of the continued governance arrangements in this work the Trust established a FWT Health and Care Futures Steering Group in October 2025, which reports to the Improvement through Involvement Committee and will regularly update to Trust Board.
A ‘Staff Engagement and Advisory Group’ for Fermanagh and West Tyrone hospital and community services has been established and includes staff and union representatives across the range of services while a new refreshed ‘Strategic Partnership Group’ has been approved to support the visioning work ahead.
We are now entering the next stage of this work and we are committed to a structured programme of formal engagement with staff, stakeholders, public representatives and the wider community.
| June – September 2026 (allowing for Summer Period) |
Structured programme of Staff and Community engagement.
Working closely with Fermanagh and Omagh District Council to support Engagement planning and delivery Using established community planning structures, including the FODC Integrated Wellbeing Network and Community and Voluntary Forum. Engagement reflecting the diversity of the Fermanagh and West Tyrone population, including Section 75 groups Continued engagement with public representatives and key stakeholder groups |
| From November 2026: | Completion of structured engagement phase (September 2026)
Initial analysis of insights/actionable insights presented to Trust Board in November 2026 Work on the Vision will formally commence, informed by the extensive engagement Trust Board consideration of next steps, including timeline for launch |
Communications, PR and Information campaign:
The Trust continues to deliver a communications and information campaign across a range of services, highlighting the work of our teams and providing clear, accessible information to the public.
There has also been a strong focus on ensuring elected representatives are fully informed through Public Representative Briefs and briefing sessions, including live-streamed sessions with the NI Assembly Committee for Health, Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, and Derry City and Strabane District Council.
This activity has been supported through digital channels and media engagement and will continue in the months ahead. Printed information will also be made available for the public.
Providing a clear Narrative on “Why we are engaging”:
We are developing a Vision for the future of health and care services in Fermanagh and West Tyrone.
To do this, we need to understand population need and how services should be delivered in the future.
People’s needs are changing, with more people living longer and often requiring more support. At the same time, advances in technology and changing expectations are shaping how services should be provided.
This engagement provides an opportunity for people to share what matters most to them, what is working well and what could be improved.
What we hear will help shape how services are planned and developed in the future.
We want to:
- Help our staff and communities feel heard and understood
- Build confidence in the future of health and care services
- Attract voices from across the whole community, not just those who traditionally engage
- Provide insights that support practical and achievable service planning
- Strengthen political and community support for future transformation
- Establish a foundation for ongoing engagement between the Trust and the communities it serves, creating real conversation leading to a more collaborative and sustainable approach to change.
Our commitment
We recognise that this is an important and sensitive piece of work. The Trust is committed to ensuring that the process is inclusive, transparent and shaped by those who use and deliver services.
By working together, we aim to develop a clear and deliverable Vision that supports safe, sustainable and high-quality health and care services for Fermanagh and West Tyrone, now and into the future.
Detailed information together with news, stories and features to date are available on this Fermanagh and West Tyrone Health and Care Futures Online Hub.