THE mayor of Holsworthy is encouraging people to attend a public meeting being held on April 19 to provide information about the future of Holsworthy Community Hospital.

The meeting has been arranged by the Holsworthy Town Council, assisted by Holsworthy Hospital League of Friends in association with the NHS and will be chaired by mayor Jon Hutchings.

Cllr Hutchings said: “Did you know there are no inpatient hospital beds in the whole of Torridge?

“As many of you will know the inpatient beds have been temporarily closed in Holsworthy Hospital for just over a year. The Northern Devon Healthcare [NHS] Trust who look after the beds have said the hospital does not have enough patients to maintain standards on health and safety grounds.

“Whether we like this or not this is where we are. We may have a chance to change this!

“On Thursday there will be a public meeting with senior members of the NEW Devon Clinical Commissioning Group. These are the people who pay the Trust. This is our chance as a town and outlying areas to show just how much we want those beds to reopen. I urge everyone who can make it to the Holsworthy Sports Hall on Thursday 19th April at 3.30pm or 7pm to come along. We will hear what the future health care in our area could be like in the future, but it is also our chance to steer them in the direction we would prefer. If you can, please come along and show your support for Holsworthy Hospital. One day you may well need a medical bed in Holsworthy. Once they have gone they will probably never return.”

People attending the event will be updated on efforts to reopen beds at the hospital, closed temporarily last year for safety reasons.

They will also have the opportunity to quiz Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust (NDHT), which runs the hospital, and NHS Northern, Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group (NEW Devon CCG), responsible for longer-term planning of services.

The meeting will take place at Holsworthy Sports Hall in two sessions. This is intended to ensure as many people as possible attend. The first session begins at 3.30pm and the second at 7pm.