After months of wrangling over the future of Dartmouth and Kings-wear Hospital, NHS bosses and community groups have come together to follow the original plan of building a new centre at the top of town, which will not include any care beds.

At a consultation meeting last week called by the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, community groups, county and district councillors and NHS bosses met to discuss the two possible sites for the new health and well-being centre in Dartmouth.

The sites under scrutiny were one adjacent to the park-and-ride at the top of Dartmouth and the site of the former cottage hospital, which was closed earlier this year.

Ann Wagner, director for strategy and improvement at the NHS trust, said: “There was a clear majority view that the best option is the site at the top of the town.

“This recommendation is due to be considered by the trust board at its meeting on Friday, December 7, and we’ll make a further statement once a decision has been made.”

She said it had been “really helpful” to meet the various groups, including the medical practice, Dartmouth Caring, the League of Friends of Dartmouth and District Health Care, the Patients Participation Group and the Dartmouth Area Healthcare Action Group.

“With all the interested parties in the room at the same time, we can really listen to each other, discuss different perspectives and try to come to a consensus about the best way forward” added Ms Wagner.“We want to deliver a health and well-being centre for Dartmouth that best meets local people’s needs, so we need to hear from local groups about what’s important to them.”

The group, called the Dartmouth Health and Well-being Centre Working Group, was created recently, with local groups in Dartmouth coming together to help develop proposals for a new health and well-being centre in the town. It has already met twice, facilitated by Healthwatch.

This recommendation to be put to the trust board has been suggested despite resistance from campaign groups in the town, such as the Dartmouth Area Healthcare Action Group and the Women of Dartmouth and District. These groups hoped the new site would include around six to eight beds.

However, the trust has said that changing the clinical commissioning group’s decision on inpatient beds is not part of the remit of the Dartmouth Health and Well-being Centre Working Group. 

In 2016, south Devon and Torbay CCG consulted on introducing a new integrated model of care, which involved investing in community services, creating health and well-being centres in local towns and consolidating community hospitals and MIUs to one in each CCG locality.

They also included closing a number of hospital beds, including those at Dartmouth Hospital.

In January 2017, the CCG’s governing body met to agree changes proposed as a result of the consultation.

Dartmouth Hospital closed in March 2017 and Dartmouth Clinic was repurposed as an interim health and well-being clinic offering a wide range of outpatient clinics.