Teignmouth Hospital closure moves closer

Consultation about move to wellbeing centre

People in Teignmouth and Dawlish are being asked what they think about moving services from Teignmouth Community Hospital into a new £8 mullion wellbeing centre in Teignmouth - and not going ahead with plans for 12 new beds at the hospital.

A consultation is running till the end of October making for views on the future of health and care services in the area. More than 16,000 local people will have the full consultation document delivered to their door, accompanied by a pull-out questionnaire.

Teignmouth Hospital, which opened in 1954 was the first hospital built under the NHS. Two years ago a report found that it couldn't be  reconfigured to provide modern facilities. It said: "The most recent hospital conditions survey shows that the building is nearing the end of its effective life with wear and tear taking its toll, mechanical and electrical infrastructure approaching the end of its economic life, drainage problems and disability discrimination issues.”

Now the Devon Clinical Commissioning Group says a new wellbeing centre "will bring GP services, community health and care and voluntary sector services under one roof in the centre of town, meaning that care can be much more easily coordinated for each patient. The CCG is proposing to move the most highly-used community clinics – podiatry, physiotherapy and audiology – from Teignmouth Community Hospital into the new centre, along with consultant-led ear nose and throat clinics. These make up 73 percent of all outpatient appointments at the hospital.

"The CCG proposes that all other clinics and day case procedures move from Teignmouth Community Hospital to Dawlish Community Hospital, four miles away. And it proposes to reverse an earlier decision to provide 12 rehabilitation beds at Teignmouth Community Hospital, saying successful community services have made them unnecessary."

Dr Paul Johnson, clinical chair of Devon CCG, said: “ “We believe our proposal is good, but we now want to hear from local people. For the next eight weeks we will be listening carefully to other ideas.”

Teignmouth’s biggest GP Practice, Channel View Medical Group, will move into the Health and Wellbeing Centre, saying it will help them attract new doctors and nurses – something that has recently been difficult. Dr Carlie Karakusevic, a partner at Channel View, said: “The new centre would give us space for training doctors and other health and care staff and would be a real plus in attracting doctors to Teignmouth, as they wouldn’t have to shoulder responsibility for outdated premises that need high maintenance.

“We’re already working hard to coordinate care for each patient and their carer or carers, but being all together in the same modern building, working as one team, would make it easier to provide even more joined up care.”

If the proposal is approved, Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust says it would no longer need Teignmouth Community Hospital and would be likely to sell it so the proceeds could be reinvested in the local NHS.

The NHS is holding live meetings online and is making available simple instructions on how to join them. These meetings are on:

Friday, 11 September 2.30pm-4pm
Thursday 17 September 10.30am-12noon
Wednesday 23 September 6pm-7.30pm
Tuesday 29 September 3pm-4.30pm
Monday 5 October 11.30am-1pm
Saturday 17 October 11am-12.30pm

People can go to the website www.devonccg.nhs.uk/teignmouth-and-dawlish for more information, to register as an interested stakeholder and receive regular updates, express an interest in attending an on-line meeting or to invite the CCG to meet remotely with their community group to discuss the proposals.