Tyrone County Hospital in Omagh lost out to Enniskillen

Stormont health minister Des Browne made the announcement on Monday.

The Erne Hospital in Enniskillen is set to keep its life-saving acute services at the expense of the Tyrone County Hospital in Omagh.

The temporary loss of acute services at South Tyrone hospital in Dungannon will also become permanent.

Other hospitals that will lose their acute services as part of the changes are Whiteabbey, Mid-Ulster, Magherafelt and Lagan Valley.

The removal of life-saving services from the Mid Ulster Hospital will leave the people of the area with nothing more than a glorified health centre Patsy McGlone SDLP Assembly member

Sinn Fein West Tyrone MP Pat Doherty said Mr Browne's statement was "full of contradictions".

"He has entirely ignored the response from southern health minister Micheal Martin, having sought it in very specific terms.

"He acknowledged that he received it, but then ignored it.

"It makes no logical sense, and this is not the end of the campaign for us.

"We will review the document and we will come at it thoroughly, including the possibility of a legal challenge," he said.

However, Mr Doherty's party colleague, Fermanagh and South Tyrone MP Michelle Gildernew, was delighted.

Decision

"I feel that people who live in south and west Fermanagh would have been discriminated against if the decision had not gone to Enniskillen," she said.

Ulster Unionist Assembly member Sam Foster also welcomed the announcement.

"It is excellent news. I am very much aware that it was quite a difficult decision for the minister.

"The people of Fermanagh needed that. Had the result been otherwise, we would have been very much isolated," he said.

Meanwhile, the removal of acute services from the Mid Ulster Hospital in Magherafelt was described by DUP Assembly member William McCrea as "a despicable decision".

"We are at a serious disadvantage in the Mid Ulster area.

"Whenever people talk about the west, you would think the only part was Enniskillen or Omagh.

"We have a very large rural area now devoid of proper acute and maternity services accessible to the people of the province," he said.

SDLP councillor Patsy McGlone said the Mid Ulster Hospital decision was a "major disappointment".

Replacement care

"The removal of life-saving services from the Mid Ulster Hospital will leave the people of the area with nothing more than a glorified health centre which is something with neither the scope or capacity to best serve the needs of the community," he said.

Northern Ireland Unionist Party health spokesman Norman Boyd said he was "saddened and angry" at the withdrawal of acute services from Whiteabbey Hospital.

"Newtownabbey is large enough to have its own acute hospital," he said.

Elsewhere, DUP health spokeswoman, Iris Robinson was concerned that hospitals such as Lagan Valley are to lose some core services.

"The people in these areas must be provided with high quality replacement care," she said.

Women's Coalition Assembly member Monica McWilliams said she was glad the uncertainty was over.

"Although some people will undoubtedly be very disappointed, I think for far too long people have been living with too much uncertainty," she said.