Devon MP calls for better rural weighting after Axminster clinic closes
Devon MP calls for better rural weighting after Axminster clinic closes
NHS funding should reflect the realities of rural and coastal Devon, where some patients now live too far from their nearest clinic to be treated, a Devon MP has told Parliament.
Richard Foord, MP for the Honiton & Sidmouth constituency, was speaking in a Westminster Hall debate on the Government's oversight of underperforming NHS trusts on Wednesday 14 October. He raised the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, which runs hospitals across mid and east Devon, and the loss of dermatology services at Axminster Hospital.
Replying for the Government, the Minister for Secondary Care Karin Smyth, sought to defend the Government by saying that hospitals in rural areas received additional funding to cope with the issues that rurality raises.
Mr Foord said to MPs in the debate:
"When we discuss underperforming Trusts, we must recognise that some NHS Trusts are operating in circumstances that would challenge even the best management teams.
"The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust serves a largely rural and coastal population, with an ageing demographic, workforce pressures and significant barriers to access. I do not want to blame the Royal Devon leadership team. This is certainly not about blaming hard-working staff, because they do a brilliant job in very trying circumstances. But let us face it: the geography and demographics are stacked against them."
Mr Foord described the example of a Seaton couple. The husband is increasingly frail and has skin cancer. Until recently, the patient was seen by dermatology services at Axminster Hospital, seven and a half miles from home.
Those services are no longer available at Axminster, and patients must travel to Exeter instead - if they can. For the couple, that means a 22 mile journey, too far for them to manage. Mr Foord told MPs that, as a result, the man's cancer is not being dealt with.
The Royal Devon told Mr Foord that this was "a workforce and capacity issue, not a reflection of the clinical priority we place on patient care".
Mr Foord pointed to warnings from the Chief Medical Officer, Sir Chris Whitty, that it is harder to attract NHS staff to coastal and other peripheral areas.
He also quoted Devon County Council's Director of Public Health, Steve Brown: "In Devon, our records show that some people are dying up to 15 years earlier than they should."
Mr Foord concluded:
"If Government oversight of NHS Trusts is to be meaningful, they must recognise the realities of rural and coastal healthcare, and weight funding accordingly."