Hospital set to close in favour of new health hub

TEIGNMOUTH Hospital, the first one built under the NHS, will effectively be closed after health chiefs agreed to move all services provided to other locations.

The Devon CCG Governing Body, meeting on Thursday, backed a proposal for moving services away from Teignmouth Community Hospital, built back in 1954, given that a new £8m Health and Wellbeing Centre is due to be built in the heart of Teignmouth.

The CCG proposal, agreed unanimously, would see community clinics moved to the new Health and Wellbeing Centre, specialist outpatient clinics and day case procedures, move to Dawlish Hospital, and ditch a plan to establish 12 rehabilitation beds at Teignmouth Community Hospital (TCH).

With no services left to be commissioned out of the existing hospital site, it would then be up to the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust to determine the future of the site - with a sale to reinvest finance into local NHS services the most likely outcome.

A petition against the plans signed by more than 3,000 people – handed in to Devon County Council’s health and adult care scrutiny committee last month, but a spotlight review earlier this week concluded that it was in the best interests of local health needs.

At Thursday’s meeting, the CCG Board agreed to approve:

the move of the most frequently used community clinics from TCH to the new Health and Wellbeing Centre

the move of specialist outpatient clinics, except ear nose and throat clinics and specialist orthopaedic clinics, from TCH to Dawlish Community Hospital

the move of day case procedures from TCH to Dawlish Community Hospital

a continued model of community

Daniel.Clark@reachplc.com based intermediate care, reversing the decision to establish 12 rehabilitation beds at TCH

approve the move of specialist ear, nose and throat clinics and specialist orthopaedic clinics to the Health and Wellbeing Centre

request Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust consider in detail the suggestions put forward for additional services at the Health and Wellbeing Centre

request Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust consider providing secondary office space at Dawlish Community Hospital for physiotherapists, occupational therapists and district nurses

request Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust work with Teignbridge District Council to mitigate parking issues for staff and patients, and to work to further support and enhance the development of community transport to the hospital sites

The board agreed that the health and wellbeing centre would ensure the right environment to deliver care now and into the future that the more services that can be delivered in the community rather than bed-based services would be more sustainable.

Dr Paul Johnson, clinical chair of Devon CCG, said: “I hope this will be for the benefit for the people in the South Devon area and the opportunity that comes with co-location and home support in the coastal region.”

The new £8million Health and Wellbeing Centre is to be built by Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust in the heart of Teignmouth and is due to open in 2022, subject to planning permission.