The Trust has today outlined the next steps following the temporary closure of the inpatient beds at Holsworthy Hospital.
The beds closed temporarily on 31 March due to significant safety concerns. To find out more about the reasons for the temporary closure, watch the Q&A video below.
In order for the beds to reopen, the Trust needs to address both the staffing challenges and the low occupancy of the inpatient beds. Because the Trust determines its staffing needs based on the care that is provided, the issue of low bed occupancy needs to be addressed first.
To do this, the Trust will be working with community leaders and clinical stakeholders to explore how we can use the beds in Holsworthy.
The Trust is currently doing some work to discover whether there is unmet need for beds in Holsworthy and Torridge. The Trust will also be working with NHS Northern, Eastern and Western Devon CCG to liaise with neighbouring providers and commissioners to explore whether Holsworthy can serve a wider population catchment.
The Trust will be inviting community leaders and stakeholders to review its progress and findings together.
Since making the decision to temporarily close the beds, the Trust has held a number of public meetings and drop-ins, as well as attending a Holsworthy Town Council meeting, to give the public the opportunity to understand the rationale behind this decision. These meetings have shown the strength of feeling and the Trust has heard a number of personal stories which demonstrate the value people place on the inpatient beds.
The teams in Holsworthy have been fully supported through this process and are all in temporary redeployments in other positions. If the occupancy issues are able to be resolved, there would still be a minimum lead-in time of three to four months to re-staff Holsworthy Hospital.
The Trust would like to thank the community for their continued patience and understanding.
More information
We would like to remind people that the clinics at Holsworthy Hospital are running as normal. The temporary closure of inpatient beds at Holsworthy Hospital does not affect any of the other services at the Hospital.