THE decision to keep beds at Holsworthy Hospital has been welcomed in the town — but several leading figures have sounded a note of caution.

While the beds at Holsworthy have been saved, those at Bideford and Ilfracombe will go.

The decision last week by the Northern Devon healthcare NHS Trust board followed a six-week public consultation entitled ‘Delivering safe and effective care within the budget’.

The decision to keep beds open at Holsworthy and South Molton was viewed by the board as the best decision possible as they serve a larger, rural and more dispersed population — with more modern facilities and no struggle to fill staff vacancies.

Holsworthy mayor Cllr John Allen, who is also chairman of the hospital’s league of friends, hailed the community for its ‘wonderful’ support for the town hospital.

He said: “I would like to thank the public for all their support during the long journey and I am grateful to everyone who joined the campaign to save our community hospital beds.

“It is wonderful to see our community coming together as we always do but I would like to suggest we do not become complacent and continue our hard work to ensure a continuation of provisions for the community.”

Holsworthy GP David Hillebrandt, in a letter to the Post, described the decision as ‘a tribute to the community spirit’ in the town.

But he criticised the short consultation process: “We now realise that consultation periods can be short and small hospitals can be picked off one at a time, with community played off against community.

“If it had not been for a chance conversation and the help of the auctioneers and businesses in Holsworthy on market day, word of the threats would not have spread through the community so effectively.”

There was a need for communities to remain vigilant and be ready to act again if budgets dropped further, he said — see page 4.

Torridge and West Devon Conservative MP Geoffrey Cox expressed concern that community beds are to close in Bideford.

He said: “While I am pleased that Holsworthy has retained its community beds, I must reiterate my view that in my opinion no beds should be closed until the Care Closer to Home scheme has been proven irrefutably effective.

“However, as it would seem that despite all the concerns that have been raised with them the Trust have decided to go ahead with their plans to reduce bed numbers, at the very least these changes should be put on hold until the resources and investment are put in place to make them effective.”

Around 1,000 people attended 21 public meetings in August and September — in Ilfracombe, Holsworthy, South Molton, Bideford, Hatherleigh, Lynton and Barnstaple‚ and the Trust received close to 600 consultation responses in total.

The board agreed that beds should be retained in the community hospitals at Holsworthy and South Molton but not at Bideford and Ilfracombe.

Stroke in-patient services at Bideford are to remain unaffected with the physio, speech and language and occupational therapy in-patient teams.

The Trust’s chief executive Dr Alison Diamond said: “Providing more care to people in their own homes is a model which is tried and tested and has proved to be safe and successful across Devon.

“Our community health and social care teams currently support around 7,000 patients across Devon in their own homes at any one time. At the same time, we are making it really clear that anyone who needs an admission to a community hospital bed will get one.”