Health bosses faced with a wave of concerns over the decision to temporarily close Dartmouth Community Hospital's minor injuries unit have come up new proposals to get the unit open again.
The health commissioners said they are now looking at working with organisations like the St John Ambulance, local GPs and paramedics from the ambulance service to ensure a minor injuries service is operating in Dartmouth.
Meanwhile, Dartmouth Caring chairman Dee Nutt said she had been shocked to learn the MIU was closing.
And town councillor Steve Smith has fired off a protest email to the health trust and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt demanding to know how the hospital has ended up facing a staffing crisis and demanding an investigation.
South Devon and Torbay Clinical Commissioning Group announced last week that the MIU at the hospital was closing from today because of a shortage of nursing staff.
This week, Simon Tapley, director of commissioning at the CGS, said he was looking at ways of getting the MIU open again quickly as possible.
He said: 'We are keen to explore with other health providers ways of getting a minor injuries service up and running in Dartmouth as soon as possible.
'We'll be looking now at the possibilities of working with the likes of St John Ambulance, paramedics from the ambulance service and the local GP practice to get a service in place.
'In the meantime, we will, of course, renew efforts to recruit senior nurses for Dartmouth, to ensure that the MIU provides services that are safe and sustainable.'
Ms Nutt said: 'It is upsetting but I know everything is being done to recruit as soon as possible.'
Mr Smith is demanding to know how the staffing situation was 'allowed to happen' and why the town was not told earlier.
He wrote directly to Mr Hunt warning: 'Jeremy as a young man living in Dartmouth in 1979/80 you know how remote Dartmouth can be, it is more so now that bus routes have been reduced and axed.
'There will be some minor injuries that out of shear panic people will call for help and the local ambulance service, though they are very dedicated, are also stretched we have had two occasions in the last six months where ambulance call outs have taken over 40 minutes to respond.
'Dartmouth cannot and will not accept being pushed into the side tracks just because it's at the end of the road. Please investigate.'
Devon Health and Care Trust, which runs the minor injuries services, said: 'Nationally there is a shortage of nurses entering or returning to the profession and nurses trained in minor injuries are in high demand.
'This is having an impact on our ability to recruit to rural locations, as many nurses need to be treating much bigger numbers if they are to keep up their skills and develop their careers.
'Dartmouth Community Hospital has been particularly affected due to a number of our long-service nurses retiring and the unsuccessful recruitment to fill these posts.
'I understand that for some people this is not an ideal situation but our duty is to ensure that the service can be provided safely.
'We are continuing our efforts to recruit permanent staff to run the services in Dartmouth with the aim of resuming full services as soon as possible.'
Speaking about the temporary closure, Sallie Ecroyd, a spokesman for the South Devon and Torbay Clinical Commissioning Group, said: 'Obviously, this is really disappointing, especially at this time of year with summer coming and the population about to swell.
'The CCG is asking the trust to make renewed efforts to recruit.
'We also want to see greater clarity on what minor injuries/ ailments the GP practice will be able to help with, so that local people are really clear whether they need to go to the surgery or to Brixham.
'I know people will think this is the beginning of the end and that the MIU is being sneakily closed by the back door.
'This is absolutely not the case, and the CCG would not permit this. It is quite different in Ashburton where local people themselves have agreed that an MIU seeing two patients a day is not a good use of resources, when Newton Abbot is so close.
'We are very much aware that Dartmouth has a completely different challenge with its more cut-off location.
'The CCG has no option when it comes to safety; staffing levels have to be up to the required level or the service isn't safe.
'They've gone out to recruitment three times but these skilled nurses seem to want to work in big, bustling hospitals where they will keep up their skills and their career prospects.'
Until a new service is in place in Dartmouth, patients are being asked to use the MIUs at Brixham Community Hospital – four miles away via ferry, open 8am-6pm, Monday to Friday – or Totnes Hospital 14 miles away, open 8am-9pm, seven days a week.
However, Dartmouth Medical Practice has said it is available to provide non-emergency treatment, so patients who feel that their GP could help them are advised to call the surgery on 01803 832212 before travelling to Brixham or Totnes.