The town has been left with no hospital and no minor injuries unit for over a year, because of the decision of Torbay and South Devon Trust and the clinical commissioning group to close our cottage hospital – more than a year in advance of the proposed new facilities in Townstal being up and running.
As we now all know, that plan has completely collapsed and we have been left with nothing – and expected to wait until 2021, or later, for the new build, or whatever else they are currently considering.
On May 14, at a public meeting attended by nearly 500 residents, we were heartened to receive tremendous support for our condemnation of the trust’s reckless decisions.
The trust’s response to the public was shocking.
Well honed “speak” and jargon – repetitive and empty rhetoric.
Talk of “gateways” and use of care in the community, as an alternative to professional hospital care, fell very short of what we wanted to hear.
Meaningless drivel, meted out to the very people who had come to hear about a solution to the healthcare crisis they had created.
They were given 14 days to respond to our demands.
We held our first meeting yesterday, May 29, to form a group that will act on behalf of the town.
Together, we will take the first steps towards the reinstatement of our healthcare.
Please continue to support our efforts.
Linda Goss
Churchfields, Dartmouth