Ed Davey Visits North Devon District Hospital

Liberal Democrat Party Leader, Sir Ed Davey, joined local Liberal Democrat MP Ian Roome for a visit to North Devon District Hospital (NDDH) ahead of the Government’s ‘review’ into the New Hospital Programme. The visit was initiated by Ian Roome MP to emphasise the critical condition of the hospital’s infrastructure and the devastating effects if funding were to be withdrawn.

The remotest acute hospital in England, NDDH faces mounting pressure on older hospital buildings, and the removal of vital funding could force local residents to travel long distances to access critical care.

Sir Ed Davey and Ian Roome were welcomed by representatives from the Trust, including Chair Dame Shan Morgan, along with the Our Future Hospital leads. Their tour included the Main Operating Theatres and Intensive Care Unit, built more than 50 years ago and now long overdue for modernisation. Each are suffering from having fewer than the standard number of places now expected by the NHS for a hospital of this size, and both are running at capacity.

The tour also included a stop at the Fern Centre, a cancer-support facility that Ian Roome played a key role in fundraising for during his time with the Royal Devon & Exeter hospital charity. 

The visit concluded with a Q&A session on the New Hospital Programme, with both Sir Ed Davey and Ian Roome expressing their full support for the essential funding required for NDDH. As a former mental health nurse with years of NHS experience, Ian Roome emphasised the critical importance of the funding, stating:

“It is absolutely imperative that the Government’s review into the New Hospital Programme at North Devon District Hospital focuses on urgent needs in the area. We are already suffering from years of Tory false promises, so scrapping these plans would be another blow. This scheme would have a hugely positive impact on the NHS in the South West, and with a delivery partner on board for the NDDH already, people have waited long enough.”

The visit also comes amid a letter sent by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting to MPs in which he writes: “The previous Government failed to hold a Spending Review in their last few years of office, this created a vacuum which allowed previous Health Secretaries to allude to £20 billion of investment in the NHP that was not there.” 

As the Government prepares to review its commitment to the New Hospital Programme, Sir Ed Davey and Ian Roome are calling for immediate action. Their message is clear: investment in North Devon District Hospital is crucial for the wellbeing of local residents and withdrawing it would have dire consequences.