THERE is sill everything to play for in saving Dartmouth Hospital from the axe, campaigners believe.

A meeting of the Dart­mouth Patient Participation Group says proposals over the future of the region’s community hospitals are still up for discussion.

In a PPG report to the June meeting of Dartmouth Town Council Cllr David Gent said: ‘It now seems likely that there will be a further delay in the drafting of the clinical commissioning group’s consultation paper, as they are having to do a substantial rethink about all the projected closures.’

On Tuesday, proposed cuts were discussed at a meeting of the county council’s health and wellbeing scrutiny committee.

And committee member Cllr Claire Wright said she feared the South Devon and Torbay Clinical Commiss­ioning Group was being vague over the public consultation on proposals which would reduce its community hospital bed numbers from 156 to 96. Torbay Hospital is also set to lose 100 beds, she said.

‘These are likely to be significant cuts to health services and it is essential that the public consultation period is handled properly and fairly.’

Five community hospitals are proposed to be closed and sold off – Dartmouth, Bovey Tracey, Ashburton, Buckfastleigh and Paignton – freeing up around £6.2m, she wrote on her blog afterwards.

‘The changes proposed are set to deliver around £70m of savings during 2016/17, with a £100m expected to be saved by March 2018,’ said Cllr Wright.

‘The paper seemed to be a bit light on what consultation would take place, although it was clear that the regime wanted the changes implemented as soon as possible. I asked twice about this and received a rather vague reply but it looks as though there will be a 12-week consultation, possibly starting in July, which is when the regime is set to publish its detailed plans.

‘Health scrutiny chairman Richard Westlake asked that a detailed consultation programme be sent to the committee.’

A report on the reconfiguration of community services from the South and Torbay CCG said: ‘Since the governing body approved the proposals as a basis for consultation, NHS England and the CCG have been working through the detail of the proposals as part of the NHS assurance process. We had originally hoped to have completed consultation by the beginning of August, having started in May, but the checking process has taken longer than anticipated.

‘Although this is nearing completion, with no substantial changes to the proposals or approach being made, we are likely to face a choice of starting consultation in the core summer holiday period or delaying it until early September.’

The new approach would mean £3.9m invested in community services, and health and social care staff working more closely in new town-based health and wellbeing centres with the local voluntary sector.

Minor injury units would be reduced from seven to three – in Newton Abbot, Totnes and Dawlish – but they would be open seven days a week, with more consistent opening hours and X-ray facilities.