an Okehampton Town Councillor has called on Devon County Council to support the campaign to reopen Okehampton Hospital’s beds following the announcement that the Government will fund extra hospital beds.

Councillor Jan Goffey’s pleas came as the NHS and the Government published a blueprint on Monday (January 30) which set out a two-year delivery plan to support emergency care services, reduce waiting times and prevent bed-blocking.

She said: ‘When the hospital ward was first closed, we said it would cause bed-blocking in the RD&E [Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital] and we were proved right before the pandemic. Now, it’s ten times worse.

‘Then we were told there’s not enough staff but for recuperating patients you only need a few carers — as long as you’ve got someone medically-qualified on site, then it’s fine.’

The closure of the hospital ward, said Cllr Goffey has split families as Okehampton patients are required to convalesce away from home at RD&E, while residents unable to drive struggle to visit family members in hospital.

She said: ‘We’ve had people, who’ve been married for 50 ,60, 70 years, being separated from their spouse and dying without family around them. I’ve heard absolutely heartbreaking stories.’

This campaign to reopen the hospital inpatient ward is not new and many councillors have opposed Devon County Council’s decision to close the hospital. In July last year, town councillor Tony Leech asked that the town council write to MP Mel Stride asking him to lobby for a minor injury unit and hospital ward be reopened.

The town council resolved to carry out Cllr Leech’s proposal but as yet there is no update.

The renewed push to reopen the hospital ward follows on from the Department of Health and Social Care’s announcement that it would provide 800 new ambulances, including 100 specialist mental health vehicles and 5,000 more hospital beds using money from a £1 billion fund, dedicated to tackling problems faced by the NHS.

However, Cllr Goffey has suggested an alternative way of resolving the crisis in the NHS.

She added: ‘The Government need to reinstate the nursing bursaries. They should encourage people [to enter the profession] as people are leaving in droves because they’re absolutely exhausted. But the NHS is one of the largest employers in the country and some of them, especially management, are extremely well paid. I do not want to see a flat-rate increase for NHS employees. I want to see the people in the A&E emergency services get extra pay. That rumbling sound is Florence Nightingale turning in her grave!’

Devon County Council also used to run the Wardhayes care home in Okehampton, which Cllr Goffey described as ‘a wonderful facility’ which included a small dementia unit and contained facilities to help those convalescing before they were able to return home.

However, this was also closed down and is now home to Okehampton College’s Post-16 Centre which was refitted in 2018 to include teaching rooms, private study spaces, a common room and catering facilities for 120 more pupils.

Okehampton’s inpatient hospital beds closed in 2017 following a public consultation by the Northern, Eastern and Western Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), the body responsible for the planning and commissioning of health care in the region.

The consultation concluded that newly-opened Okehampton Medical Centre, had the capacity to treat the town’s hospital patients. Despite fierce opposition from residents, the hospital ward was shut down.

Okehampton’s hospital had included a ward and a full maternity service, which has been ‘temporarily closed’ for six years due to staffing shortages.