MANY residents of the Holsworthy area and also from Bude-Stratton attended two meetings in the Memorial Hall last Tuesday, February 18, to hear members of the Holsworthy Community Involvement Group (HCIG) present their final recommendations for the future of health and care services in the area, writes Christine Williams.

Their ‘pioneering’ proposals were set out in a document entitled ‘Healthier and Happier Holsworthy’ and were enlarged on by a panel of nine, consisting of local councillors, representatives of the NHS and local residents. Before and during the meetings community volunteer groups were manning stalls demonstrating what services and support are already available to people in the Holsworthy area.

After a few words of welcome Geoff Cusick, vice-chairman of HCIG, set the meetings in context. HCIG is made up of local Holsworthy residents and community leaders, the local NHS and county and district councillors. It was set up in 2017 when Holsworthy Community Hospital’s inpatient beds were temporarily closed.

One of the group members was local resident Penny Smith who had been a patient in Holsworthy Hospital with cancer at the time the beds were closed. Sue Banks stepped forward to pay tribute to her. She said Penny knew what excellent care she was receiving so joined the protests and became a campaigner to have the beds reopened. She died in April 2019.

Committed to local beds for local people the group met regularly and set about finding solutions for the present and long term health provision for this remote and rural area and it emerged at the two meetings that to date they had three major achievements.

In June 2018 NHS Devon CCG formally requested Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust (NDHT) to look at how the right health services could be delivered to Holsworthy people and to reopen the beds.

However, because throughout the country there was, and indeed still is, a shortage of nurses and GPs it proved impossible to find safe medical cover despite searching all over Devon and even the Navy at Plymouth. So the beds remained closed.

Undaunted the HCIG used the opportunity to help shape the services in their community and carried out a survey which brought 1,155 responses representing 16.25% of households. The survey listed eight locally identified health and social care priorities; carers, healthier lifestyles, loneliness and isolation, NHS beds and the use of Holsworthy Hospital, services in the home, support at end of life, travel and transport and young people. Based on the survey Healthwatch Devon worked with Devon Communities Together to produce the findings on which the final recommendations are based. The survey proved to be a catalyst for taking some of these key issues forward and, since the need for end of life care was an early priority, on May 31, 2019, three beds at Deer Park Care Home were set aside for the exclusive use of the NHS, providing Holsworthy people with end of life care by NHS nurses or to meet intensive rehabilitation needs. The care is free to all patients.

Since losing its beds Holsworthy Community Hospital has become a hive of activity with the number of clinics there increasing from 500 per month to 2,000, thus saving local people the need to travel long distances to see a consultant.

More recently, because it was felt that Holsworthy had more in common with Bude-Stratton than with other towns further afield, efforts have been made to increase cross-border co-operation. As a result an agreement between the NDHT and Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust will provide for four beds at Stratton Hospital to be made available to Holsworthy patients.

This will be for a 12 week trial and if a need is identified the beds could be commissioned for a longer term.

A Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said: “We are currently trialling making available up to four beds to Holsworthy patients. I believe the trial will run until the end of March 2020.”

Mr Cusick explained that the purpose of the two meetings was to put forward their conclusions and the recommendations as to where they went from here and members of the group came on to the platform to explain the progress made and amplify the 28 recommendations.

In short, they are seeking improved support for mental health services and for carers. To achieve healthier lifestyles they propose creating a cycle path between Holsworthy and Bude and supporting the development of Holsworthy leisure centre. They propose measures to combat loneliness and isolation. They seek to open and monitor NHS beds for Holsworthy, increase the range of existing outpatient services and provide more joined up support for care in the home. Because at the end of their lives most people prefer to die in their own home a local nurse service and an out of hours community nursing service are recommended. The challenge of local public transport must be recognised and hospitals must take account of rurality, mileage and cost when booking appointments. Finally, the needs of young people must be explored and existing support and opportunities for them be promoted.

Although the plan to reopen beds at Holsworthy Hospital remains active, in answer to a question from the floor Cllr Jon Hutchings, Torridge District Council’s Holsworthy Ward member, said that the likelihood was that they would never reopen. “We have done all we can and although we may no longer have 16 beds in the hospital, we have seven locally”, he said. In conclusion Mr Cusick said they had not been able to find an ideal solution. They had been working with reality and provided the best possible option.

The members of the HCIG have reason to be proud since no other similar enterprise has been attempted in the rest of the country and it has been recognised by the NHS as an ‘outstanding example’. After the meetings the

28 recommendations will be presented to key organisations including NHS Devon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Devon County Council and Torridge District Council, and HCIG will oversee and monitor their implementation and provide updates on their progress.