Protest at Lisnaskea Health Centre creating ‘hostile atmosphere’ for staff

ONLINE abuse and a poster campaign at a health centre in Co Fermanagh has been condemned as creating “a hostile atmosphere against staff”

Pictures of Lisnaskea Health Centre emerged online, showing the building covered in posters complaining about the difficulties in getting GP appointments.

A joint statement from the Royal College of GPs NI and BMA said the posters as well as abusive online comments had created “a hostile atmosphere for staff and patients alike, as Lisnaskea Health Centre staff continue to work tirelessly to meet increasing demand.”

Dr Ursula Mason, Chair of RCGPNI, said: “I want to send my support to all the staff at Lisnaskea Health Centre. Harassment of this nature cannot be tolerated.

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“Across Northern Ireland, practices are working against a backdrop of contract hand backs and instability. The vast majority of GPs want to be in a position to deliver good quality NHS care for their patients and pay the bills.

“As long as general practice in Northern Ireland remains underfunded, more practices will struggle to provide sustainable services for their patients. There can be no excuse to target hard-working staff, and the abuse aimed at staff at Lisnaskea Health Centre is unacceptable.”

Dr Frances O’Hagan, Chair of BMA Northern Ireland’s GP committee added: “This action against the staff of Lisnaskea Health Centre is totally unacceptable; no one should be faced with abuse like this when they are just trying to do their job.

“GPs are working harder than ever, doing the absolute best they can for patients, despite huge shortages of staff and increased practice sizes. Action like this will do nothing to encourage GPs to come and work in the area, risking the situation becoming even worse.”

Police confirmed that posters were stuck on the building at some point overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday.

Officers attended and noted that no criminal damage had occurred, and advice and guidance was given to the reporting party.

It is understood the incident is not being treated as a criminal matter.

Posting pictures on Facebook, the former councillor and health service campaigner Eamon Keenan said the posters were erected by the “Erne East Health Committee” over a “complete lack” of basic healthcare in the town.

In response to the Irish News, Mr Keenan added that the posters speak for themselves and he would “not be party to any abuse”

“The fact of the matter is that the People of Lisnaskea and the surrounding areas, have been unable to avail of normal GP appointments when needed, for many years now. Phones are constantly engaged or ring out. Phoning twenty or thirty times is not uncommon. There have been repeated complaints raised about this, with many meetings on this issue, sadly nothing has been resolved.”

And he added: “We clearly understand that the Staff at the Health centre in Lisnaskea do their very best and are working under difficult conditions ... (they) are working in unbearable conditions and must be commended.

“It would seem that community activism is the only way to raise these issues so as to tackle the neglect of our people.

“Myself and the Erne East Community Health Committee send our solidarity to all health workers who are working under extremely difficult circumstances at this time.”

Tom Elliott, the UUP’s Fermanagh & South Tyrone MLA, told the Irish News that abuse against staff was unacceptable.

He also said he understood that plans to build a new health centre in Lisnaskea, due to start in the summer, were at an advanced stage.

“I do know there’s difficulty in getting GP appointments, but it’s not just in Lisnaskea, I know that from a personal perspective. But to start abusing the staff is not the way to resolve it,” he said.

“It’s not their fault that people can’t get GP appointments, it’s the pressures of work. GPs are struggling to meet demand and have significant amounts of people to see every day.

“I would ask people to be as patient as reasonably possible and to try and go through the proper systems and channels.”