Hope fades for future of hospital after strong campaign to save it

TEIGNMOUTH Hospital looks set to close after an independent panel found the NHS consulted ‘adequately’ with councillors on the plan.

The community hospital on Mill Lane was the first to be built by the NHS in 1954 but is planned to close, with services moving to Dawlish Hospital and a new £8 million health centre in Teignmouth town centre.

Campaigners have argued against the decision made by NHS Devon’s clinical commissioning group (CCG), saying community hospital beds are “desperately needed,” while a petition entitled ‘Hands Off Teignmouth Hospital’ has been supported by more than 1,000 people.

Last March, the county council’s health and care scrutiny committee reconsidered the CCG’s plans and decided they were unhappy with the lack of consultation over the future of the site. After referring the issue to the health secretary, it was announced in November that Sajid Javid had agreed to the request and plans to close the hospital would be reviewed by a panel of independent experts – the IRP.

The panel has now ruled that the CCG’s consultation with the committee was “adequate,” paving the way for the closure to go ahead.

But it did warn there are “lessons to be learned for both parties, particularly around engagement with scrutiny committee members, to resolve issues and agree reasonable timescales for discussion before a final decision on a proposal is made.”

MP Anne Marie Morris (Independent, Newton Abbot) said: “I remain very concerned this decision is not in the best interests of Teignmouth residents.”