Health Secretary supports Devon’s community hospitals

The Secretary of State for Health, The Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, has said that community hospitals “have a vital role to play” in localised care in Devon.

The Secretary of State’s comments came after meeting local Members of Parliament Neil Parish, MP for Tiverton and Honiton, the Rt Hon Hugo Swire, MP for East Devon, and Mel Stride, MP for Central Devon, to discuss the running of community hospitals in Devon on 10th February.

The MPs met with the Health Secretary get his support for the Northern, Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group (NEW Devon CCG) to begin a pilot of an alternative ownership model for running community hospitals in Devon.

The CCG are planning to use the Royal Devon & Exeter hospital as the service provider with the possibility that local community groups can manage and oversee the use of the hospital buildings. This can be done by setting up community interest companies to hold the assets of community hospitals.

Neil Parish MP also raised his objections to the temporary closure of in-patient beds at Axminster Hospital and his commitment to ensuring that both Seaton and Axminster have

Speaking after the meeting, the Health Secretary said: “I am very keen that the integration of NHS services should include localised care that embraces community services. The NHS England Five Year Forward View makes clear that community hospitals have a vital role to play and I completely support this.

“This is especially important in areas like Devon that have a growing elderly population. We need services that meet the needs of local people and CCGs need to work with their local clinicians and people to design these. I was happy to meet with Neil Parish, Hugo Swire and Mel Stride who are strong advocates of high quality care close to people's homes and outside of acute hospitals."