David Leonard, of Thurlestone Gardens, Dartmouth, writes:

Thank you to Dr Nick Roberts, chief clinical officer of South Devon & Torbay Clinical Commissioning Group, for answering some of the concerns about forthcoming changes to healthcare raised in my previous letter. It is a relief to know that the current consultation process is ‘real and meaningful’ and that decisions will not be made until early next year.

However, two of the main points in my letter have not been addressed. First, Dr Roberts does not indicate how residents of Dartmouth are expected to access healthcare services – such as the minor injuries unit, physiotherapy, X-ray unit – if our local hospital closes and the nearest clinical hubs are located in Brixham, Totnes and Newton Abbot.

A cursory glance at the map shows that Dartmouth is fairly close to Brixham and Totnes as the crow flies, around five and eight miles respectively. As we all know, matters are not quite that simple: a ferry crossing needed in one case and (very) inadequate public transport in the other.

Dartmouth is a town with a sizeable, and growing, population in a relatively remote location. No other town in the south Devon area with a similar population will be left with such a lengthy and/or difficult ­journey to its nearest clinical hub. In the case of the Torbay towns, including Brixham, a bus service running every 12 ­minutes or so throughout the day and into the evening links them together and with the main hospital at Torbay. In contrast, Dartmouth has no such luxury.

Second, Dr Roberts states that ‘any monies received from any sale will be used to fund services in the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust area’. Comments in my previous letter were intended to encourage the CCG to ringfence any such funds to be used specifically to benefit ­residents of Dartmouth rather than the whole area. After all, they will be the main losers if our hospital eventually closes.

I would urge Dr Roberts and the CCG to look again at the particular travel difficulties that will be faced by residents of Dartmouth and its surrounding villages in the event that our hospital closes.

Furthermore, I would urge them to ensure that funds raised from the sale of the site are used exclusively to provide some sort of clinical hub in Dartmouth itself, compensating to an extent for the loss of our hospital and allowing easier access for residents to the healthcare facilities provided by a clinical hub.