Teignmouth Hospital to close after independent review

The community hospital on Mill Lane was the first one to be built by the NHS in 1954.

A community hospital will close after a review found an NHS consultation on the closure was "adequate".

Services at Teignmouth Hospital will move to Dawlish Hospital and to a new £8m health centre in the town centre.

The decision to close was reviewed by an independent panel after Devon County Council said it was unhappy with the consultation.

However, campaigners say community beds are "desperately needed" and a petition was signed by 1,000 people.

In March 2021 Devon County Council's health and scrutiny committee reconsidered the decision made by NHS Devon's clinical commissioning group (CCG) and decided it was unhappy with the lack of consultation over the future of the community hospital.

Health secretary, Sajid Javid agreed to the request and said the potential closure would be reviewed by a panel of independent experts.

The panel has since ruled the CCG's consultation with the county council committee was "adequate", said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

However, the independent panel did say there were "lessons to be learned for both parties".

The report from the panel said the future of the community hospital "had been in plain sight for everyone and open for discussion with the NHS since 2018".

However, in "hindsight" the CCG said it "could have been more explicit in its communication" with the public, the panel revealed.

It also said the NHS must engage with the local community to "determine the future" of the community hospital.

'Very concerned'

Anne Marie Morris, Independent MP for Newton Abbot, said the decision made by NHS Devon's Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) was not one she welcomed.

"I remain very concerned that this decision is not in the best interests of Teignmouth residents," she said.

Dr David Greenwell from NHS Devon CCG said he was "pleased" the independent panel found that the "CCG has fulfilled its responsibilities".