Improving local Health Services at Newton Abbot Hospital for local residents

David Radford, Chairman Devon Primary Care Trust held talks last Thursday with Anne Marie Morris, Prospective Conservative MP for Newton Abbot to discuss local residents’ health concerns in Newton Abbot.

David Radford and Anne Marie Morris are determined to ensure the best health care provision possible in Newton Abbot. Anne Marie explained to David a number of concerns raised with her by constituents.

Key concerns were the relocation of the dialysis provision currently at St Michael’s to a new unit in Torbay and also the relocation of adult in patient mental health services to Torbay Hospital. While clearly offering excellent clinical care, the difficulty and cost of travelling to Torbay was of very real concern, particularly for patients with kidney failure who would usually have to travel to Torbay three times a week every week.

Anne Marie also raised her concerns over the increasing risk of Lymes Disease from Ticks carried by the growing deer population across Dartmoor and Exmoor. Lymes Disease can become a seriously debilitating illness if a Tick is not spotted and the patient treated promptly

David Radford agreed to review these issues with his clinical colleagues and look at the viability of:

• Providing a limited renal dialysis provision in the new Newton Abbot Hospital following the closure of the unit at St Michael’s for less complex cases where the clinical outcome would not be compromised
• Implementing a consultant led outpatient clinic for minor mental health problems such as depression at the new Newton Abbot Hospital which could provide better health outcomes by being delivered within the patient’s local community
• Raising awareness among GPs of the growing risk of Lymes Disease from the Tick population in Devon and developing and communicating best practice guidelines for GPs on the diagnosis and treatment of Lymes disease.

Discussions on the relocation of other community health services to Newton Abbot Hospital are in progress.

As the old telephone number for Newton Abbot Hospital is still included in a number of current publications, the trust has now provided a voice message on the old telephone number giving the correct information. To contact Newton Abbot Hospital please call 01626 324500.

David Radford agreed to meet with the Conservative MPs and Prospective Conservative MPs in Devon on a quarterly basis to brief them on health developments and proposals and to be briefed by them on concerns raised with them by their constituents. He will also be offering similar quarterly briefings to the other two main political groupings.

Anne Marie Morris said: “Nothing is more important to me than achieving the best health outcomes for local constituents, a passion that David and I share. I will continue to campaign for better local services in our community. I am delighted we were able to have such a constructive meeting at the end of which we have identified some tangible steps forward which I hope will help to meet local residents’ concerns. If there are any health concerns that residents raise with me going forward, I know I will have the support of David and his team in addressing them”

“Newton Abbot’s new hospital offers a welcome opportunity to see more new healthcare services in the local community and I am delighted that the hospital is looking at extending its current range of services which I hope will include x-ray services to match the opening hours of its Minor Injuries Unit”