Okehampton Community Hospital

My 85 year old mother-in-law was transferred from RDamp;E here on Sunday, having fallen and broken her collar bone and humerus. It was the perfect solution for someone who needs little medical care beyond taking pills and doing occupational therapy and provides a more homely environment than is possible at RDamp;E with more space, only 2 patients in her bay and far more social space. We contacted the Occupational Therapy team who offered to hold a meeting with us to discuss Mums ongoing care needs, as her dementia results in difficulties in her helping herself by eating healthily and doing physiotherapy to increase her wasted muscles and make her more resilient against falls. We were astonished to hear that this fantastic facility is planned for closure by October this year. It is a wonderful purpose built hospital offering in addition a local birthing facility. This cannot be allowed to happen, or patients like my mother-in-law are likely to die with the limited provision of a 15 minute home care visit at home.

Reply from Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust
Wed, 16 Aug 2017 11:57:38 +0100

Thank you for your kind comments surrounding your mother’s recent stay at Okehampton hospital and we will pass these comments onto the staff at Okehampton for their feedback and we hope your mother has continued to recuperate. With regards to your comments surrounding the closure of Okehampton hospital, we can confirm that the hospital is not closing. It has been necessary to temporarily, for a period of three months, suspend births at the maternity unit due to unsafe staffing levels and we are making every effort to resume this service. You may also be aware that we are redirecting resources to increase the provision of home care and support in communities – this is being enabled through the reduction in community inpatient beds. As part of this, quality end of life care at home, for those who choose this, remains a top priority. The Okehampton health and social care team will have additional nurses and therapy staff in place to meet the needs of those who choose to die at home. Other services available at Okehampton Community Hospital remain unaffected by these changes.