THE closure of the Ockment surgery is another major cut to community services in Okehampton. This service was put in place to offer our patients a choice in provision of primary care. 

It saddens me deeply that since I left the Okehampton Medical Centre where I worked as a GP, I have seen the destruction of medical services at the hospital. David Hodge’s gold standard service for patients with dementia, both for in-patients and day care was the first to go.

This was followed by a reduction in the opening hours of the minor injuries unit. Next was the closure of the Ockment Medical Centre. I now hear that the minor injuries unit is to close at the end of this month (see front page story).

In-patient beds have now been cut to only 16 beds. These are beds for the care of the terminally ill, elderly patients with acute medical problems and those recovering from surgery. It is death by a thousand cuts.

Do not be surprised if NHS England is sharpening its axe to cut all in-patient beds both in the maternity unit and those available for the elderly. The care of the most disadvantaged in our society is being sacrificed by the present round of cuts.

These cuts have already been delivered to Moretonhampstead hospital, Torridge hospital and Axminster hospital.

Primary care receives less than 10% of the NHS budget but has to deal with 90% of the work. GPs working in the community are exhausted and the service remains under financed.

Secondary care has grown at an alarming rate with an enormous rise in cost. For example, when I arrived in Devon the RD and E hospital had six consultant orthopaedic surgeons . It now has 23. The cost of the placement of each surgeon is over a million pounds per annum.The population of Devon has gone up by only 15% during this time. However the number of full time equivalent GPs has hardly changed. This is difficult to justify. It is a paradox that the clinical commissioning groups that decide how money is spent within the NHS includes GPs in executive roles. How have they allowed this bizarre situation to have occurred.

Your readers are all aware that at the last election the whole of the South West, apart from Ben Bradshaw in Exeter, became Conservative constituencies. This cutting of community care services has happened under the present Government’s watch. I hope the readers and patients of Okehampton and its surrounding villages will write to the local MPs to complain. Hospital closures have occurred in the constituencies of Geoffrey Cox, Mel Stride, and Hugo Swire. They must act.

The damage to services at Okehampton hospital continues and is almost certainly irreversible. This is tragic. Above all it demonstrates lack of leadership, care and imagination. It is shameful.

Paul Nielson