Disbelief at plans to axe hospital's A&E service

The hospital where survivors of the Omagh bombing were treated could lose its accident and emergency services.

The move is part of proposed major changes to health care in Northern Ireland.

The A&E department at Tyrone County Hospital and four other hospitals will be axed, according to a report.

The report recommends a massive overhaul of the health service over the next 10 years, costing an estimated £1bn.

The report follows a major review headed by the former Northern Ireland Ombudsman Maurice Hayes, which has proposed a new hospital be built in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, 26 miles from Omagh.

Northern Ireland's four health boards should be replaced by one so-called super board, the report said.

Eighteen health trusts would be replaced by three integrated health and social care systems.

One of these would see three of Belfast's main hospitals merging.

Dr Hayes said the proposal to site a new hospital in Enniskillen instead of Omagh had been a tough one.

One of the key recommendations had been to ensure the entire population of Northern Ireland had access to vital hospital services within an hour.