FUNDRAISING for Okehampton's new multi-million pound hospital received a massive boost from its patron, TV star Noel Edmonds, at a packed public meeting on Tuesday night.
Mr Edmonds, who lives at Jacobstowe, gave unqualified backing to the new hospital by offering state-of-the-art equipment and services to it.
It means Okehampton will be at the forefront of technology when the hospital goes live in the summer of 2002.
Mr Edmonds said: 'The best thing I ever did was to move to this part of the world — I'm delighted to be associated with this appeal.'
He believed the hospital would be a 'huge success' for Okehampton, which deserved the finest staff, facilities and equipment.
'The thing I really want to do is to make sure this hospital reflects the fact we are living in the 21st century.
'The regional health authority stumped up the money for the building — what we need now is state of the art equipment,' said Mr Edmonds, whose company VMC has secured the contract to provide 'telemedicine' equipment.
Once there was a 'shopping list' of equipment he would work out a 'significant' donation, 'future-proofed' against becoming outdated.
'I am committed to providing management, technical and training services which we normally charge for, totally free of charge,' he said.
At the meeting, Dr Paul Nielson, who spearheaded the drive for a new Okehampton hospital, said he hoped the whole community would join the £250,000 fundraising appeal and consultation process.
'It's your hospital — a sense of ownership is absolutely crucial,' he said.
Dr David Gundry thought the plans were 'absolutely wonderful' though he worried about future expansion and whether there was enough meeting space.
Okehampton resident Sharon Miller was anxious that disabled parking should be as close to the entrance as possible, preferably under cover.
West Devon councillor Joan Pauley hoped there would be enough storage facilities — she was also concerned about expansion.
Another resident, David Terry, said there did not appear to be provision for buses to stop or turn.
Architect Nigel Grainge said the sloping site on the Crediton Road and detailed brief for the 35-bed hospital presented a challenge, but he felt the team had produced a draft design combining dignity, privacy, security, flexibility and ease of access.
'We are trying to create a building that works as a whole now, but can expand and change at a later date,' he said.
'In five weeks there has been a huge amount of information to go through, options to consider and designs to develop.'
He said the plans included plenty of storage space and meeting rooms — advice from the county council was taken when calculating expansion requirements.
Public transport needs would be taken care of at the detailed planning application stage.
The design included Velux and roof windows to maximise on natural light, en-suite facilities in four and one-bedded rooms, a series of sheltered gardens and courtyards and layout to maximise efficiency and comfort for staff and clients.
All the services presently provided in Okehampton will be catered for with room to expand as necessary.
After the meeting, Dr Nielson described Mr Edmond's offer as 'brilliant'.
'I was delighted with the meeting, very impressed with Noel, overwhelmingly impressed with the architects, the questions were good and some people brought things up we hadn't thought about.'
Feedback from the meeting will be worked into a final design and a further public meeting will be held, probably in January.