STAFF at Okehampton Community Hospital recently celebrated the fifth anniversary since the hospital opened — and are now eagerly looking forward to continuing their success in the future. The hospital, which opened in 2003, offers inpatient and elderly mental health beds, maternity services and a minor injuries unit. In a statement to mark the fifth anniversary, Devon Primary Care Trust said: 'Okehampton Community Hospital has always achieved an excellent cleanliness record from inspectors, which is reflected by the amount of thank you letters received from patients. 'Many patients prefer the hospital's quiet environment and feel it provides further relief as they recover. 'A dedicated training programme at the hospital has provided all staff with the best possible skills so they are able to feel confident looking after patients.' Margaret Hammer, Okehampton Hospital matron, added: 'We have had five good years and we are now looking forward to the future. 'We aim to provide the best possible care for the residents of Okehampton and Moretonhampstead and feel proud when we hear such positive feedback from our patients.' Further activities will take place on July 5 as part of the hospital's NHS60 celebrations. The celebrations will mark the sixtieth birthday of the NHS and there will be an open day to include food, drink and stalls with information on health related issues. The start of May also saw the Friends of Okehampton Hospital hold their annual meeting, when they reported another year of successful fund raising. The group has agreed to purchase two new tilting beds, two additional wheelchairs and new electro- cardiograph machine. Chairman Martin Perry said: 'We are delighted to help our hospital in this way. 'It will be an overall cost of approximately £5,000 but means we will have in Okehampton one of the latest lightweight portable ECG machines for faster and accurate cardiac assessment. 'The current ECG is about ten years old and like everything else these days, such machines are soon out of date. 'The additional beds and wheelchairs will be welcomed and supplement those that have already been purchased.' In his annual report the chairman expressed thanks to the committee and the people of Okehampton for their generous support.