A PROTEST is to take place outside Okehampton Hospital this Saturday (October 1) after a controversial consultation, which will likely see the hospital lose its 16 in-patient beds, has been given the go-ahead.

Yesterday afternoon (Wednesday, September 28), the Northern, Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group (NEW Devon CCG) governing body gave the rubber stamp for the consultation to go ahead, which will see Devon’s eastern locality lose half of its in-patient beds.

The current 143 beds across the locality’s hospitals are to be reduced to 72 beds located at three hospitals instead of the seven used at present.

The CCG will now consult on four options which would keep beds at Tiverton Hospital and two other hospitals out of Sidmouth, Exmouth, Seaton or Whipton. All four options mean Okehampton Hospital would lose all its in-patient beds.

The Your Future Consultation will now start on Friday, October 7 and will run for 13 weeks until January 6, 2017.

The plans have been widely panned, including by the Friends of Okehampton Hospital, Central Devon MP Mel Stride, Okehampton Town Mayor Cllr Jan Goffey, Devon County Councillor Kevin Ball and West Devon Borough Councillors Tony Leech and Cllr the Rev Mike Davies.

Cllr Davies has set up a Facebook page protesting the plans called ’Save Our Beds - Okehampton Hospital’. He is organising this weekend’s protest and has said everyone is welcome to attend and take part.

He said: ’In their meeting yesterday the Clinical Commission Group voted against Okehampton Hospital being an option and believe it would be better for Okehampton Hospital to lose its remaining beds.

’With this in mind I would like as many people as possible to turn up at Okehampton Hospital this Saturday at 10am for 30 minutes for a protest photo, with as many posters saying "Save Our Beds" as possible.

’The majority of individuals we are protesting against are based in Exeter. We will now plan to carry out an actual protest at the next CCG meeting in Exeter in November.

’We have recently lost the doctors surgery and minor injuries unit at the hospital. Although this is currently at the Okehampton Medical Centre it is only for a 12 month contract.’

Anyone wanting to attend the protest is invited to meet at the main hospital entrance on Cavell Way on Saturday at 10am for a 30 minute protest. Protestors will not stand outside the hospital building main entrance so as not to block visitors or patients being admitted to the hospital.

Full papers and information about the governing body meeting are available on the CCG’s website www.newdevonccg.nhs.uk

To see the Facebook protest page, visit www.facebook.com/OkeyBeds