Barnstaple staffing “challenging” because of its “remoteness”
“Senior managers of the NHS Trust explained that recruitment had proved challenging over the past few years, due to the hospital’s size and location – being one of the most remote in the country.“
Yet under current government devolution plans, Barnstaple will have to be the administrative centre for half a million Devonians living up to a two hour hard drive away in places like Kingsbridge, Sidmouth and Axminster. So how easy will this be to get off the ground by 2028? – Owl
27 July Notification of potential and temporary suspension of births at North Devon District Hospital
6 August Temporary suspension of births at North Devon District Hospital from Tuesday 11 August announced (Extract)
The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has confirmed that, despite extensive efforts to maintain services, births at North Devon District Hospital (NDDH) will be temporarily suspended from Tuesday 11 August 2026 due to unsafe levels of medical staffing.
A number of subject matter experts will be invited to give evidence to the committee, whose role is to scrutinise public health and health services in Devon.
Committee chair Councillor Jess Bailey said:
“The staffing issues behind this closure have clearly been developing for some time, yet it was announced with little notice. We will seek assurance from the hospital trust that a robust plan is in place to ensure it is reopened as soon possible.
“The unit will have been closed for six days by the time the committee meets, so some of the impacts on families, the safety of new mums and the effectiveness of the trust’s mitigation plans should be understood by then.”
Council leader Councillor Julian Brazil said:
“Some remote parts of North Devon are a two-hour drive from Exeter – and that’s when there is no traffic or road closures.
“For a council which has put improving the lives of children and families as its top priority, this closure is extremely concerning. It is not a decision which would be countenanced in other parts of the country and we should not accept second-rate NHS provision here.”
11 August Maternity unit closes
Same day National Headlines: Doctors at remote Devon hospital get ‘crash course’ after maternity unit shut (Extract)
Doctors at one of England’s remotest hospitals have been given a “crash course” in birth emergencies after its maternity unit was shut and as fears grow that the safety of women and babies may be put at risk.
17 August Maternity unit closure ‘an absolute disgrace’, says Devon County Council leader. (Extract)
He was speaking at a special meeting of the scrutiny committee which was being held as a result of the suspension of services. The meeting was chaired by Cllr Jess Bailey and lasted four plus hours. Video here.
Councillors heard from senior management of the Health Trust for Exeter and North Devon who explained the decision was taken after a consultant left after a family bereavement, and a locum doctor also left.
The trust decided the remaining team of six was no longer a safe level to operate an effective roster.
Some councillors at the meeting were alarmed to hear that the service was so “fragile”, given it had taken the loss of two positions to create this situation.
Senior managers of the NHS Trust explained that recruitment had proved challenging over the past few years, due to the hospital’s size and location – being one of the most remote in the country.
But Councillor Ed Tyldesley pointed out that West Cumberland in Cumbria was a similar size hospital and was able to rotate staff more successfully with a neighbouring hospital in Carlisle.
Dr Karen Davies said she was leaving her job at Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (RDUH) because she could not “support the way the trust has handled, and is handling, the maternity situation” at Barnstaple hospital.
Responding to Davies’ resignation, Vanessa Purday, chief medical officer at RDUH, said the trust “has a responsibility to make decisions based on clinical risk, patient safety and the available evidence”.
Purday added: “The decision to temporarily suspend birthing services was reached through established clinical, executive and system governance processes when safe staffing could no longer be assured.”
The trust’s chief medical officer said every available option was considered and the safety of women and their babies was the “overriding consideration”.
Davies wrote in her resignation letter: “We have known for several years that there have been concerns about fragility, as well as safety and culture, in the northern maternity unit.”
She said she was concerned a proposal for additional support which “could have produced a plan to avoid closure” was not brought in.
She added she had not taken the decision to bring her retirement forward lightly and several colleagues had asked her to stay.
“But ultimately I have to accept that my repeated warnings and concerns over the last two years have not been heard and have not been acted upon,” her letter said.
Where do we go from here?
East Devon Watch 