THE mayor of Holsworthy wants to reassure the public that although things have been quiet a new group has been working hard behind the scenes with the aim of getting Holsworthy Hospital’s inpatient bed facility re-opened, writes Zoë Uglow.

Following the announcement on March 3 that the community hospital’s inpatient beds were to close temporarily the town rallied together to petition the decision and to implore the Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust (NDHT) to re-open the unit.

Mayor Jon Hutchings said since the announcement of the closure a group began coming together to ‘fight the closure’.

He added: “I got people together to discuss the closure and since then a group has formed. We now meet on a regular basis to try and have been trying to speak with the Trust.

“We met with the doctors from the Holsworthy practice last week and it was a very informative and interesting meeting. We learned a lot from them, they gave us some good information about what is happening at the hospital that we can now take forward and use during discussions with the CCG and the Trust.”

The unofficial group includes prospective parliamentary candidate Geoffrey Cox (Cons), Devon County Councillor Barry Parsons (Cons), Torridge District Councillor Ian Parker (Cons) and along with Cllr Hutchings they are joined by; Geoffrey Cuisack of the Holsworthy Rotary Club, cancer patient who was previously receiving care at Holsworthy Hospital Penny Smith and her husband Andrew, Susan Banks and Ben Longhurst-Prior, who created the #saveourstaff campaign.

Cllr Hutchings said: “They are a great group of people and I can’t thank them enough for all the hard work they have, and are still, putting in to help resolve this.

“Because of the election the Trust have claimed they can’t discuss the closure and are putting it down to ‘Purdah’, I don’t really see what that has to do with it since they keep saying this has been a ‘non-political decision’.

“We want people to know we have been working hard and have managed to arrange a telephone meeting with CEO Alison Diamond for this Friday [June 9].

“Following this we are hoping to organise a meeting with the CCG, its representatives, and the Trust to try and resolve the points they gave as ‘reasons for closure’.”In response Dr Alison Diamond, chief executive of Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust, explained how Purdah affects the Trust, she said: “During purdah, the NHS cannot engage in any meetings with any politicians or elected members on any subject which has political connotations, or would have the potential to be used for political purposes. Purdah also imposes restrictions on the level of public engagement activities that we are able to undertake.“For your information the guidance we are obliged to follow is here www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/610239/general-election-guidance-2017.pdfShe added: “The Trust is committed to involving the community in addressing the issues in Holsworthy and this guidance makes it difficult to progress this work until after the election.“We would like to thank everybody for their continued patience and understanding as we work to address these challenges.”

The Trust initially placed Holsworthy Hospital into ‘special measures’ due to issues including; high usage of agency staff, high levels of staff sickness and low bed occupancy.

Cllr Hutchings said: “We have been gathering evidence over the last few months so that we can try and work with the Trust so a solution can be formed that will enable the beds to be re-opened.

“I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supplied us with letters and evidence as to why they think the hospital’s beds should be re-opened — it has been invaluable when putting our case together.”

He said he thinks the group will be able to work well in the future because they have representatives from across the levels, from the top to the bottom of the political chain and many members of the public who have vast knowledge of the local area and its needs.

He said: “The group is a cross section, it’s got everyone from every level in it. We have all been doing bits and pieces in the background and behind the scenes and I want to reassure everyone who thinks the fight for the Holsworthy Hospital beds has gone a bit quiet, it has not, we are still standing firm and continue to work hard to get the beds re-opened!”

Cllr Hutchings said he never intended to take the lead on the fight for Holsworthy Hospital but said he feels it is ‘what would be expected of any town’s mayor’, he added: “I want to get this out there, it was never my intention to take the lead. This is not about self-praise or personal agendas; it is about getting our hospital’s beds re-opened. The lead I have taken has only been possible with the support of the new group and I don’t hold my hands up and say ‘it was all me’ because it wasn’t, it is those people who have supported me that I have to thank the most!”

Cllr Hutchings said the group is looking towards organising a number of meetings with the CCG and NDHT to establish what steps need to be taken to restore Holsworthy Hospital’s inpatient beds facility.

The Post contacted the Trust for comment, but received no response before we went to press.

Also standing for the Torridge and West Devon area are: Vince Barry (Labour), David Chalmers (Liberal Democrats), Chris Jordan (Green) and Robin Julian (Independent).