THREE items were brought forward by parish councils to the Holsworthy Area Advisory Group meeting on December 2 for consideration and discussion.

The items included questions regarding Holsworthy Community Hospital, fly tipping and dog fouling.

Before the meeting three questions were posed by Ashwater Parish Council about the end of life care beds in Deer Park following the temporary closure of the inpatient beds at Holsworthy Community Hospital.

They were: If the contract had not been awarded, why were Deer Park already preparing the rooms? If there was no doctor cover for the hospital (which was a reason given for not being able to locate the beds in the hospital), where had the doctors come from for Deer Park? Who else had tendered?

On behalf of Ashwater Parish Council member Cllr Liz Fisher said: “The rooms in Deer Park were being prepared before the tenders were even mentioned.”

She added: “Also, the report done in August was ‘Good’ not ‘Outstanding’. You would want your family in somewhere that was ‘Outstanding’.”

Cllr Philip Hackett, Broadheath ward member on Torridge District Council, who sits on the Holsworthy Community Involvement Group (HCIG), said: “We do not know if there is a second care home tendering.

“This is my personal view, it could be a foot in the door to privatising end of life care which I feel very strongly against  — it goes against the ethos of the NHS. If we have end of life beds in care homes not nursing homes where staff are not NHS and when you do not have a constant presence at the end of the bed, if that care home then says ‘we don’t want to continue’ what happens then?”

He added: “How many of you would like those beds reopened at Holsworthy Hospital? My position is clear, I want our community beds back.”

All members raised their hands and agreed they would like the beds returned to the community hospital.

Cllr Jon Hutchings, Holsworthy town councillor and ward member on Torridge District Council, and member of HCIG, responded: “These [Deer Park] beds were as a result of the questionnaires that went out. We required end of life beds in this area as the nearest, at the moment, were in South Molton.

“They couldn’t staff the hospital, so instead of sitting back and waiting this was done so we could secure end of life beds in the area. It was a case of if we don’t have these beds we wouldn’t have end of life care.”

Cllr Fisher said she believed Deer Park ‘thought they had it’ before the tendering went out.

Cllr Hutchings clarified: “Just because they thought they had it doesn’t mean they did.”

Cllr Fisher then asked whether North Devon had been considered as a place for end of life care.

Cllr Hutchings concluded: “No. The whole point was to have these beds locally — people wanted beds locally so that’s what we did.”

The update on dog fouling was brief, with leader of the advisory group Cllr Peter Watson, ward member for Broadheath, asking: “Who is dog fouling?”

With a consensus from the room responding jovially: “Dogs.”

Deputy of the advisory group Cllr Ken James, ward member for Milton and Tamarside, then concluded with an update regarding fly tipping: “If you see fly tipping notify Torridge District Council. We will send someone out to track it and we are then able to stinging people with fines.

“However, if fly tipping happens on a private lane it is the owner’s problem unfortunately.”