Local people asked questions on topics ranging from parking and population growth to COVID-19 readiness and GP branch surgeries during the first online public meeting held as part of an NHS consultation on services in Teignmouth and Dawlish.
Friday (11 September) saw the first of six public meetings where anyone can ask questions and share their views on an NHS proposal for the future shape of health and care services in the Teignmouth and Dawlish area.
Independently hosted by Kevin Dixon, Chair of Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay, the meetings feature a video and presentation followed by a session where the audience asks questions of a panel of local doctors and NHS managers.
Dr Paul Johnson, clinical chair of Devon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), said: “The online meetings are a great way of finding out more about our proposal and are a chance to put questions to the panel, which includes senior leaders of Torbay and South Devon NHS Trust, the CCG and local GPs.
“The meetings are easy to join and we are really keen to listen to what everyone has to say, so we encourage people to take part. You can join the meetings on your mobile, tablet or home computer wherever you are, and full instructions are available on our website.”
The second of the six meetings takes place on Thursday, 17 September, 2020, from 10.30am – 12noon.
Click on www.devonccg.nhs.uk/teignmouth-and-dawlish for the meeting link (available from Wednesday 16 September) and guidance on how to take part.
With COVID-19 still circulating, the consultation is taking place in a different way, with live meetings being held online so that the risks of public gatherings are avoided.
Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay is an independent patient champion for health and social care. It will be scrutinising the consultation process and will receive, evaluate and report on all feedback received.
Between 1 September and 26 October 2020, Devon CCG is asking people to consider its proposal for moving services from Teignmouth Community Hospital, given that a new £8million Health and Wellbeing Centre is due to be built in the heart of Teignmouth.
The centre will bring GP services, community health and care and voluntary sector services together under one roof in the centre of town, meaning that care can be much more easily coordinated for each patient.
Teignmouth’s biggest GP Practice, Channel View Medical Group, will move into the Health and Wellbeing Centre, saying it will help them attract new doctors and nurses – something that has recently been difficult.
The CCG is proposing to move the most highly-used community clinics – podiatry, physiotherapy and audiology – from Teignmouth Community Hospital into the new centre, along with consultant-led ear nose and throat clinics.
The CCG proposes that all other clinics and day-case procedures move from Teignmouth Community Hospital to Dawlish Community Hospital, four miles away.
And it proposes to reverse an earlier decision to provide 12 rehabilitation beds at Teignmouth Community Hospital, saying successful community services have made them unnecessary.
If the proposal is approved, Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust says it would no longer need Teignmouth Community Hospital and would be likely to sell it so the proceeds could be reinvested in the local NHS.
People without the internet can have their say in a number of other ways, including asking for a telephone conversation with someone from the NHS, and returning the paper survey in the consultation document.
The live online meeting dates are:
Thursday 17 September 10.30am-12noon
Wednesday 23 September 6pm-7.30pm
Tuesday 29 September 3pm-4.30pm
Monday 5 October 11.30am-1pm
Saturday 17 October 11am-12.30pm
People can go to the website www.devonccg.nhs.uk/teignmouth-and-dawlish for more information, to register as an interested stakeholder and receive regular updates, express an interest in attending an on-line meeting or to invite the CCG to meet remotely with their community group to discuss the proposals.
A series of supporting documents and information, including the main consultation document and survey form, is now also available to read and download.
The survey can also be completed online.
Local people can also call 0800 0520 029 (for free) on Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm, with any queries or to ask to speak to someone from the CCG. People can also ring to request copies of the consultation document and survey to be sent to them.
The phone line is being staffed by the independent health watchdog, Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay, which is overseeing the consultation and will collate, analyse and report on the feedback received.
Thousands of other homes across South Devon and Torbay are receiving leaflets letting them know about the consultation.
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