Accidents by Appointment Only
I must admit to being completely bemused by the latest announcement from Torbay & South Devon NHS Foundation Trust stating that anyone needing urgent care in Torbay and South Devon will need to book a same-day appointment directly with Newton Abbot Urgent Treatment Centre from Monday 28 September 2026. Apparently, and I quote “the appointment priority service is being introduced in response to growing demand for urgent care services. It means that people will have greater certainty about when they will be seen, helping to reduce the time people wait to be seen and helping the service to manage demand more effectively at busy times. People are being asked to book an appointment by calling Newton Abbot Urgent Treatment Centre directly on 01626 324631. Please note that appointments can only be made for the same day. Newton Abbot Urgent Treatment Centre is open 8am to 8pm, seven days a week, including bank holidays.”
Added to this, if you should turn-up for help and assistance without pre-booking you will be asked to follow the same procedure, e.g. call for an appointment, unless you are assessed to be an emergency. Appointments will be prioritised and people who choose to walk in will have to wait longer to be seen, particularly during busy periods unless they are an emergency patient.
I find this all-somewhat mind boggling because, even from my own experience looking after my 96-year-old husband, a bad fall or a nasty wound can happen at any time, day or night. Surely the clue is in the name of the department ‘Accident & Emergency’, maybe the administrators have lost sight of that fact! How on earth do we know when an accident needing hospital intervention is likely to take place, in order to give us the opportunity to pre-book a same-day slot to see a doctor or a nurse. This beggars belief and has clearly not been thought through to its ultimate conclusion – but why am I not surprised about that.
The ICB and the Torbay & South Devon Foundation Trust have form in not thinking their actions through to the ultimate conclusion, which very sadly, in most cases, is seriously detrimental to all our health and ultimately our lives. Just for a moment, further consider the complete Horlicks being made of the Gadeon House saga.
Recently Susie Colley, who is leading the charge on trying to Save Torbay Hospital, wrote to Exeter City Council to find out exactly what was going on with regard to the Torbay Council owned, Gadeon House and if any necessary planning applications had been made and passed for a change of use, by the triumvirate of Torbay Council, the Torbay & South Devon Foundation Trust and Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital. This permission is obviously a requirement for moving histopathology (in the first instance), and microbiology and blood services in the second, from Torbay Hospital to Gadeon House.
Well, it transpires that not all is at it seems. I quote, “The (Exeter) Council has not received a planning application expressly seeking permission for a change of use from office accommodation to pathology laboratory use. Nor has the Council made a formal determination, through a Certificate of Lawfulness or otherwise, as to the lawful use of the premises or whether the pathology laboratory use constitutes a material change of use.” “Application 25/0538/FUL sought permission for physical alterations only and not a change of use”.
So, Susie has asked for clarification on two points:
1. No application has been made to the (Exeter) Council seeking permission for a change of use from office accommodation (Class B1) to pathology laboratory use at Gadeon House; does the Council consider that a pathology laboratory use falls within the existing Class B1 (office) use, or would it ordinarily be regarded as a sui generis or other use requiring express permission?
2. The Council has made no formal determination as to whether the pathology laboratory use constitutes a material change of use requiring planning permission. In the absence of any change of use application, does the Council intend to investigate this matter through its planning enforcement process, or would it require a third party to make a formal report before doing so?
From what I understand at the moment, it means that by moving the pathology laboratories to Gadeon House, without the required permissions in place, the public would need to physically go there for their blood tests rather than just sending the blood samples there for analysis. NICE repeatedly uses the principle that care should take account of patients' needs, preferences, accessibility and the consequences of travelling for treatment.
Principle 4 of the NHS Constitution says: “The patient will be at the heart of everything the NHS does.” Crucially, it continues that NHS services “must reflect, and should be co-ordinated around and tailored to, the needs and preferences of patients, their families and their carers.” That is highly relevant when considering a decision to centralise services some distance from the population currently receiving them locally.
The NHS Constitution Handbook states that the NHS Act 2006 places duties on NHS England and ICBs to have regard to the need to: reduce inequalities in access to healthcare and reduce inequalities in the outcomes achieved from healthcare. So, if moving a service substantially further away disproportionately affects, for example, older people, disabled people, people without cars, lower-income households or other groups, that is something ICB Devon should be considering rather than treating geographical distance simply as an inconvenience.
Torbay is not alone. The NHS is a mess and what is happening in Torbay is gradually happening across the country. It would seem that in future, you will only be safe medically if you live in a large city as the NHS management appear to be unaware of the geography of the UK. It is becoming increasingly likely that all of the hospitals under threat (and there are many) will have to group together and take out a Class Action against the NHS to stop this devastation of our services.
The ICB and Torbay & South Devon Foundation Trust should remember and maybe adhere to the current NHS England guidance: “The local population and key stakeholders should be involved from the very beginning and throughout the process.” They should also ask themselves if robust and adequate consideration has been given to the clinical interdependency of services. Personally, I think not.
The latest, hot off the press news is that in answer to Susie asking, "I would like to request an internal review of the decision to withhold information relating to the pre-application enquiry under Regulation 12(5)(d)”. Exeter Council came back yesterday with the following “Your request for an internal review is being processed and a response will be issued within 20 working days”. So, watch this space!!
Follow our Freedom of Information Requests and other correspondence of note here: https://savetorbayhospital.co.uk/foi-tracker