RESIDENTS of Okehampton were left dissatisfied by a public consultation meeting held by the Northern Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group (NEW Devon CCG) last week which discussed the controversial proposals to close all 16 in-patient beds at Okehampton Hospital.

During the meeting last Wednesday (November 16) members of the public were able to address questions to a panel of representatives from NEW Devon CCG and raise their concerns regarding the significant impact the closure of the beds would have on the community.

Following the decision to cut half of the community hospital in-patient beds across its eastern locality, NEW Devon CCG has formulated a consultation document, titled Your Future Care, which outlines a plan to provide care and support at home and in the community for the elderly and frail, preventing unnecessary hospital admissions and supporting a faster return home.

The document outlines 15 options but specifies four ‘preferred options’ which each include the closure of Okehampton’s hospital beds.

Residents expressed frustration at the CCG’s consultation document which many argued as ‘unfair’. Members of the public questioned the CCG on the logistics of cutting all of the beds to the western side of its eastern locality. Residents highlighted that it was impractical for patients to have to travel 40-45 minutes to get to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital or nearly an hour to get to Tiverton.

In response Dr David Jenner, chair of the eastern locality and mid Devon sub-locality, said: ‘We looked at the map and we have tried to be fair by considering population and the historical usage of the hospitals. I understand your concerns completely. If you can think of a way that it can work we are hear to listen to you.

‘The reason Okehampton does not appear in the four shortlisted options is because of its dispersed population and because the historical facts tell us that the in-patient beds at Okehampton have not been utilised. The concerns about distance from Okehampton to everywhere else are undeniable but we have to make it work in consideration of the whole system which covers a large area in Devon.’

At the meeting, concerns that patients from the rural areas around Okehampton had been admitted to other hospitals to make Okehampton Hospital less sustainable, were dismissed by members of the CCG.

Nurses from Okehampton’s community hospital talked about the recent changes to the hospital which included patients from surrounding areas, including Bow and North Tawton, being moved to other hospitals. One nurse questioned why the community beds had been restricted to residents solely from Okehampton when they had the capacity to cater for others.

NEW Devon CCG’s Angela Pedder, lead chief executive in northern, eastern and western Devon, responded: ‘There was a situation that the medical centre in Okehampton couldn’t put local people in the community hospital as beds were taken by people from elsewhere so this is why the beds are now strictly for Okehampton.’

She assured members of the public that historical research of bed usage had been taken before these changes were put in place and was in no way linked to the proposed closures.

Members of the public also addressed concerns of morality, many feared for the elderly and vulnerable, who lived in remote and rural areas, who would suffer due to the proposed imp-lementation of care at home services and rapid response units which would take up to two hours to get to people at home.

A member of public expressed how they felt the consultation was more about reducing costs and less about the people it would directly effect.

Dr David Jenner said: ‘No change is sadly not an option at this point, we would be £4-millon in the red if nothing is done.

‘We have been up-front and honest in saying that it is simply not affordable or clinically sustainable to keep all in-patient beds. But what we are proposing is to put more services out into the community to lessen hospital admissions.

‘We can guarantee we have looked into localising services to people. We also have evidence to prove that this model can work and is already working in other areas.’

Angela Pedder added: ‘There is a great deal of evidence from south and north Devon that the model of care can work and we are trying to get this community-based model up and running in the east and the west.’

‘We, as part of the NHS, have to live within resources made available to us by government. The resources we have available to us is a national formula. We may want to argue morality and many other points but we have to work within a national formula. On the bases of the scheme nationally, I can assure you that we are getting our fair share of funding.’

After the meeting, a letter to the Times from Robert Arnheim stated: ‘I attended the first of the consultation meetings in Okehampton and was surprised that no-one from National Health England had the courage to face the angry music of the locals who had turned up in large numbers to press for some recognition that the policy of leaving the whole of the area from Exeter to Plymouth without hospital facilities was unacceptable.

‘The people that were fielded had not one constructive proposal to offer and I am sure that I was not the only participant at the meeting who felt seriously let down and betrayed by the system.

‘We were offered consultation but all we got was rubber-stamping of a flawed decision which will leave us with ever decreasing services for what is a growing community.’

Cllr Bob Rush added: ‘We are all aware of mobile care visitors only being able to see patients in their homes for a few minutes twice a day. How can that be better than 24/7, in a small hospital with a few medical staff and access to equipment, for serious ailments and recovery from acute surgery closer to home?

‘Cottage hospitals work well, mitigate against bed-blocking, and ours in Okehampton is exemplary when allowed to operate as intended. Don’t risk losing it. We need to make our voices heard before the consultation ends January 6 and we might save our beds.’

Cllr Tony Leech said: ‘Most of the answers that we received at the public meeting were what I call management speak and the phrase ‘model’ was somewhat over used. This reminds me of when Highways have said that they have modelled the traffic flow through Okehampton and they can’t see any problems. The computers say things are fine but it is real people that have to put up with the consequences. If the CCGs do not get this modelling right, we could be faced with real people suffering.’

Okehampton Town Mayor Cllr Jan Goffey commented: ‘The CCG ran a very tight meeting. Slick and polished come to mind, they have an agenda to push and are very clear as to how to push it. Okehampton people were polite and reasonable which the CCG recognised and appreciated, but this doesn’t mean we are going down without a fight.

‘It was pointed out that even if everybody on our 37,000 catchment area i.e. every patient listed with every medical centre in a 15 mile radius, completed a response form and sent it in, statistically it is meaningless. I have asked if this can be taken as a percentage, so if 85 per cent of the people here ask for Option 15 to save our beds and only 30 per cent of the people in Exmouth bother because they are on one of the main four options, then our percentage should outweigh theirs as regards public support.

‘Our next move it to rally the rural areas into supporting us and to go through all the CCG documentation and find the flaws in their process.’

‘The CCG claim the loss of the Wallenbrook Surgery and the MIU are coincidences, but then these are the factors that counted against us and as these four options have obviously been in the planning a long time. Last year, we had a surgery and we had an MIU, so I think I have grounds for my cynicism. But, do not despair, the battle goes on!’

Additional con-sultation events have been added as part of the Your Future Care proposals by the CCG. They will be as follows:

The Jubilee Hall, Chagford — Friday, December 2, from 2.30pm to 4.30pm and Moretonhampstead Sports and Community Centre, from 5.30pm until 7.30pm.

The Charter Hall, Okehampton — Thursday, December 15, from 3pm to 5pm.