DOZENS of people from across West Devon turned out to Okehampton’s Charter Hall last Friday (November 11) with a clear message for NHS bosses — save the in-patient beds at Okehampton Hospital.

People from across the area, including from Hatherleigh, South Zeal, Exbourne, Bridestowe, North Tawton and Inwardleigh as well as Okehampton, attended a public meeting organised by Okehampton Town Council to discuss Northern, Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group’s (NEW Devon CCG) proposal to cut half of the community hospital in-patient beds across its eastern locality, including all 16 beds in Okehampton Hospital.

The event proved so busy that the Charter Hall reached capacity and visitors were shown to the Church Hall across the road to watch the meeting via video link.

Town, borough and county councillors put across the case as to why Okehampton’s beds should be saved, as did Sue Wonnacott of Okehampton and District Community Transport Group and Martin Perry, chair of the Friends of Okehampton Hospital.

Issues raised included bed blocking in wards at acute treatment units at bigger hospitals in the region, poor public transport links to other hospitals in the area and the difficulties of creating a home-based healthcare system in a rural area like West Devon.

Town mayor Cllr Jan Goffey said that she felt the answers offered by NEW Devon CCG representatives ‘consisted of a constant repetition of the mantra that home based care is best’.

Speaking at the meeting, she said: ‘According to the parliamentary briefing on October 31 this year, the Commons Select Committee On Health concluded that we need more hospital beds not less. We now have the lowest number of beds per capita than any other European country and England has the fewest beds in the UK.

‘We know already that patients in isolated areas find it impossible to keep good carers. We need a nucleus of community beds in Okehampton even when the community mind set has accepted an increase in home based care. End of life care is very important not only for families and friends but for people who live alone and have no family.

‘Many people have written to me telling me how their children and grandchildren were able to visit granny in her last few days. How the staff facilitated families to stay with loved ones until they died. How aged, non driving partners could not have made the trip daily to visit their wife or husband of 50 or 60 years in a far distant hospital.

‘Daily visits with a clean nightie, some lovely fresh fruit or favourite perfume, lifts the spirits and enables healing or a smoother passage from life to death.

‘A small hospital in the locality where staff know the patients and the families ensures a happier hospital experience, for all concerned. A small local unit has been proved to be better for dementia patients when they need to be hospitalised.

‘Complex care needs are better coped with in a small unit with a consultant geriatrician visiting once a week. Our nurses are well trained and wonderful people. We want to keep them, not see them sent off to Sidmouth in a taxi.

‘We know the CCG has to make savings, but cut the bureaucracy, not the beds.’

The CCG is considering a series of options in its ‘Your Future Care’ consultations, including four shortlisted choices.

Okehampton Hospital does not appear in the four shortlisted options, but in the expanded list of choices, it is included in three of the long-listed options; option 5 to retain beds at Tiverton, Seaton and Okehampton, option 10 to retain beds at Tiverton, Exmouth and Okehampton and option 15, to retain beds at Tiverton, Sidmouth and Okehampton.

Angela Pedder, lead chief executive for the Your Future Care consultation and Success Regime, said: ‘We are grateful to the mayor for the invitation and the opportunity to participate in the meeting. The challenges we face in health care are significant and difficult discussions and choices need to be made.

‘We are looking forward to further public meetings in Okehampton this Wednesday when we will be able to explain the proposed integrated model of care in more detail and hear what people have to say.’

Town and borough Cllr Tony Leech shared some strong words of his own at the meeting: ‘We are assured by the Eastern CCG clinicians that if this new system comes into being, that no beds will be closed until the new system is fully embedded and proved to be safe for all concerned, staff and patients alike.

‘If the rumours are correct, we have already lost beds here and staff are already being transferred to other hospitals. All before the consultation is even part the way through.

‘From where I sit, I feel that this whole fiasco seems to have been orchestrated by NHS England and the CCGs concerned. It’s that or they are all completely incompetent, when it comes to managing such important services for our community.

‘This is not just a Devon issue, this is a national disgrace and it’s time that the Government reversed their disastrous experiment with CCGs and got back to basics.’

Sue Wonnacott said: ‘Patients without their own transport, particularly those who are frail, disabled or rurally isolated in our very rural area struggle to attend appointments at the larger hospitals as the public transport is very limited and their family also find it difficult to visit.

‘It seems to be common sense to send patients back to their local hospitals as soon as possible to free up beds for acute patients and to allow patients to be near their family and friends which makes them feel happier and on the road to recovery, with visitors able to pop in for short visits, especially if they are working and find it difficult to get time off. Our drivers are often asked by clients when attending their own medical appointments, whether they would mind popping into the hospital to visit a spouse, relative or friend for just a short visit, which they try to accommodate if they don’t have another journey booked straight afterwards.

‘Care in the community is not working. As an example of this I recently received a call at 8.30am one morning from the son of an elderly gentleman, the son had driven from Wales overnight to sort out things for his dad as nothing promised had been put in place and he had an 11am appointment at the RD&E Hospital, Wonford on that day which the son could not take him to as he had to return home.

‘With the increasing pressure on the main hospitals due to “bed blocking” it is essential that facilities are retained locally to ensure that there is no delay in treatment for urgent cases at Exeter.

‘The pressure on beds is certain to increase with our ageing population and better medical treatment and closures like this will be another classic short term fix, that is shown to be a total error of judgement that will be reversed within a very short time.’

The meeting ended with the decision to support the proposal sent by Save Our Hospital Services Devon that the town council object to any cuts in NHS services in Devon.

The overwhelming majority at the meeting agreed with the proposal.

The NEW Devon CCG held their own meetings in Okehampton yesterday (Wednesday, November 16) after the Times went to press. See next week’s edition for a full report on the CCG meetings.