A VISION for a pioneering health village in Okehampton is being worked up by health experts in the town who hope to make maximum use of its two hospitals when they go up for auction later this year.

Okehampton's new £4-million community hospital is on course to be completed in November, replacing the Castle Hospital and Okehampton and District Hospital, but the two sites are being seen as crucial in developing all-round healthcare for the people of the town and area.

West Devon Borough Council has also written into its new local plan that the majority of any new development on the Castle Hospital site should be limited to medical care uses.

The site is seen as a prime location for vulnerable groups of people in the community, such as the elderly and disabled and people discharged from hospital who need special care before returning home.

Likewise, doctors and other health officials would like the Okehampton and District Hospital, which is next to Okehampton Medical Centre, to become a complementary health centre maybe incorporating a gym or some other sports facility.

The man behind the campaign for the new hospital, Okehampton GP Paul Nielson, said that with enough energy and drive Okehampton had the potential to provide something quite unique.

He said the town could have the first health village in the country, along the lines of those set up in America.

'We could pull in support from nursing and have meal support, laundry and shopping support — like a pick and mix service.

'If we create a model for the future we may be able to extract money from Central Government.'

Dr Nielson has been outspoken about the crisis hitting social care at the moment following the drastic cuts in Social Services and the closure of many nursing homes in the area. In the last 18 months there had been a loss of 228 nursing home beds in the Okehampton and Tavistock areas, he said.

'I am not just thinking of the elderly here; a lot of young disabled people have to travel up to 50 miles to get beds,' he said.

An intermediate care development which would provide a secure living environment, with help and supervision, where residents could maintain a degree of independence, is what the Mid Devon Primary Care Trust wants to establish at the Castle Hospital site through a public and private sector partnership.

When it becomes redundant the building will be returned to the Secretary of State, who is the landlord, and is then expected to be put up for auction in September.

The district hospital will also be sold, but there will be more control over what happens to it because it is under the ownership of the local NHS and next to the medical centre.

Doctors would like to extend the medical centre and provide more holistic health care with such services such as acupuncture, homeopathy and reflexology combined with fitness facilities.

'We could have a medical centre with a complementary therapy centre side by side, intermediate care promoting independence and a new hospital at the sharp end,' said Dr Nielson, who is seeking 'multi-faceted' developers to come on board.

'The potential is there for something quite unique if we seize the opportunity,' he added.