HOSPITAL beds in Okehampton will close on Monday (August 21) despite fears that a home care plan has not been properly trailed and tested.

The NHS Royal Devon and Exeter Foundation Trust (RD&E) announced today that the 16 inpatient beds at Okehampton Hospital would officially close next week, which is earlier than expected.

The RD&E, which runs the hospital, admitted the schedule for the closure needed to be brought forward due to ‘increasing pressures on safely staffing the current configuration of seven community inpatient units’ in Okehampton, Seaton, Honiton and Exeter.

In March, it was confirmed that these community hospitals would lose their in-patient beds, following a 13-week public consultation run by Northern, Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

Despite months of campaigning from the Okehampton community, the CCG agreed the closure plan and said that a home care plan would be implemented.

Dr Anthony Hemsley, associate medical director at the RD&E, said: ‘Although the decision to reduce inpatient beds will only affect a small number of patients per week, we, with the support of the clinical assurance panel, are confident that our plans to provide more care at home are safe and ultimately will help more people to be independent.

‘At the point of implementation, we will be able to re-direct some of the existing bed-based resource into local community teams. Additional staff including community nurses, therapists and personal support workers will be there to provide greater provision and access to care and support.

‘However, we know that there is still much more work to be done, particularly around prevention, well-being, recruitment of staff and availability of domiciliary care. This can only be done in partnership with communities and we at the RD&E look forward to continuing this work.’

The ‘Your Future Care’ plan proposes to move away from the bed-based model of care and instead introduce a model of care focused on proactively averting health crises and promoting inde-pendence and well-being.

However, concerns have been expressed by residents that the promised imple-mentation of an effective home care plan has not yet been delivered.

Okehampton resident Paul Vachon said: ‘Despite several consultation meetings, workshops and assurances from the CCG, the beds in Okehampton hospital are closing. This is despite the emphatic assurance that the social care in the community would be in place — with trained nurses and carers ready to look after patients at home before the beds would be closed.

‘We, the general public at those consultation meetings, were cynical of such a bold statement and questioned the implementation of the plan. We were right to be cynical. We were right to question the seemingly ambitious plans by the CCG. We were right to question the so-called manage-ment consultants on their ability to deliver the plan. Our fears have now been realised — no hospital beds. No social care package in place. No trained personnel to deliver that care in the community.’

Mr Vachon said that the CCG only had a ‘national’ plan of care that had not been trailed and tested in the Okehampton area.

Jan Goffey, the Mayor of Okehampton, said: ‘Despite several meetings with the CCG and with RD and E nobody has openly said, even when asked, the definitive date of closure. Yet the Dartmoor Ward has been deliberately wound down before this date was announced. 

‘I know the hospital staff are following orders. I know the RD&E and the CCG are also only following orders but so were the Gestapo!’

The RD&E and CCG has stated the bed closures and implementation of the home care plan would take a phased approach to redeploy and recruit staff to the additional nursing, therapy, care workers and pharmacist roles which will enhance community services in Exeter, East Devon and Mid Devon.

Inpatient beds in Okehampton and Seaton will close the week commencing August 21, Honiton will lose its bed the following week and Exeter Community Hospital beds will close on September 4.

Rob Sainsbury, chief operating officer for the CCG, said: ‘Re-allocating resources away from hospital bed-based care into more home-based and community care will really make a positive difference to people’s lives.

‘It will ensure that everyone who needs the service in our community has the best access to good quality and sustainable health services and help people to stay independent for longer, with the benefit of being cared for closer to family and friends.