Devon NHS bosses look set to close Teignmouth Hospital for good
A Devon hospital looks set to close after an independent review found the NHS consulted "adequately" with councillors about its plan.
In 2018, Devon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) unveiled proposals to close Teignmouth Hospital and move services to Dawlish Hospital and a new £8million health centre in Teignmouth town centre.
But campaigners argued hospital beds in Teignmouth were "desperately needed" and a petition to keep it open gained more than 1,000 signatures.
In March last year, Devon County Council's health and scrutiny committee reconsidered the CCG's plans and said it was unhappy with the consultation about the future of the site.
They referred the issue to Health Secretary Sajid Javid who agreed the plans to close Teignmouth hospital should be reviewed by a panel of independent experts – the IRP.
In a report published yesterday (March 17), the panel ruled the CCG’s consultation with the committee was “adequate”, paving the way for the closure to go ahead.
The panel’s report said: “The future of Teignmouth Community Hospital under the proposal has been in plain sight for everyone and open for discussion with the NHS since 2018".
But the panel did say the CCG "could have been more explicit" in its communication with the public about how they would be involved in determining the hospital’s future.
Devon CCG's clinical representative for the southern locality on the governing body Dr David Greenwell, from NHS Devon CCG, said it is the "right outcome" for health services in the area.
"We will now continue our focus on investing in a new health and wellbeing centre in the heart of the town," he added.
“Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust is committed to continuing to engage with local people on both the development of the planned new health and wellbeing centre and the future of Teignmouth Community Hospital.”
But Independent MP for Newton Abbot Anne Marie Morris said the decision is not one she welcomes.
She told ITV News: "I'm very unhappy about this result because we now have no clear plan for the provision of health and care for Teignmouth.
"The whole argument was predicated on the creation of a new hub to which much of the service would be relocated. Those plans have now fallen apart. There is nothing there as an alternative proposal.
"We have a report which says the decision that was made to close this hospital is acceptable but the premise upon which that decision was made isn't there."
With support from the Local Democracy Reporting Service