As somebody who was much involved in supporting the building of our hospital, the closure of the maternity unit and the beds was, of course, a source of great sadness and disappointment. Of course, Councillor James MacInnes is absolutely right in saying that one the main problem is the lack of staff. Mr Palmer does not, apparently, share that difficulty as he ‘develops community services’.    From where are the staff for that coming? Those delivering the services will have to spend hours in the car to drive round our wide, rural area. Might they not be able to help more people if they were together in one place in Okehampton Hospital?

There is no argument about the fact that people get better faster as near home, friends and family as possible. We all know of patients stuck in hospital in Exeter or Tiverton who need good convalescent care but not the services of an acute general hospital — and they are called ‘bed blockers’, preventing others in A & E who need a bed there getting one. This leads to the stacking up of ambulances outside and long queues in the waiting room, not to mention the cancellation of operations for people in pain.

For some of these ‘bed blockers’ good community care in their own homes might indeed be the best solution but there will always be some for whom this is not possible or appropriate and who need the halfway house which should be provided by our community hospital.   

As to the staffing problem, we hear that nurses are leaving the profession in droves due to the extreme stress they experience in the acute hospitals. I cannot help wondering if some of these dedicated nurses might stay if they were offered jobs in the much less stressful situation of a community hospital?

The provision of speciality clinics is, of course, very welcome and was very much part of the original plan for the hospital. That plan always included inpatient care for people needing it after illness or operations, the first class maternity unit and support for those with mental health problems in the excellent Redvers unit.   Let us hope that all of these can be restored in the not too distant future.

Jennifer Reynolds

Bridestowe