PATIENTS have said ‘Holsworthy has it all’ as 1,500 more appointments have become available at Holsworthy Community Hospital.

Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust (NDHT) has been working hard with other healthcare providers to enhance the services available at Holsworthy Hospital, resulting in 1,500 more appointments now being available.

There has been an estimated four-fold increase in the number of appointments available at the hospital, with around 500 appointments in April 2017 rising to more than 2,000 available in April 2019.

There are now around 40 services, clinics and groups at the hospital. Fifty health and social care staff are also based there, who provide care in the local community to rehabilitate patients, reduce avoidable hospital admissions and promote health, wellbeing and independence.

So, what can people expect to see at Holsworthy Hospital on an average Monday? The podiatry team are running more clinics at the hospital to provide support and foot care to the increasing number of people living with diabetes. Many patients need long-term support, including one gentleman who is partially sighted and has been having foot care for ten years.

He said: “It’s easy for me to get to [the clinic] as I live in Bude and get the bus over. If I had to get to Barnstaple for the appointment I’ve had today I would have to leave at 8.50am and wouldn’t get back until 6.50pm. Whereas now I left at 11am and will be back home at 1.20pm, so it’s a lot easier.

“[The environment] is a lot more relaxed and my guide dog is happy here because he knows most of the people and he knows his way around. It’s easier because I come here for the foot clinic, the diabetic team and my chronic kidney disease nurse, so it’s all in one place.”

Over the past two years the rheumatology clinics have developed so that patients can see a consultant, nurse, occupational therapist and, if necessary, go for an x-ray at a nearby hospital all in one day. Before this, they may have needed multiple appointments in different locations.

Dr Stuart Kyle, consultant rheumatologist and deputy medical director, said: “I was seeing lots of patients from Holsworthy, Stratton and Bude travel up to NDDH [North Devon District Hospital] or Bideford, and they were spending a lot of time in the car or on buses to come and see me. I felt it was better for me to travel to our patients.

“We’re now providing a much more comprehensive service and the feedback is that this is a warm, friendly place to run a clinic and patients enjoy that.”

The day treatment unit at the hospital has grown considerably since it began in early 2017, when staff started carrying out blood transfusions for five patients per month. They now regularly see around 100 patients per month, and for a wide variety of treatments.

As well as blood transfusions, which can take up to four hours to complete, the team also administer IV antibiotics, iron infusions and immunoglobulin, and they support patients who have a catheter in place.

The treatments are carried out in the space where the inpatient beds were before they were temporarily closed in March 2017.

Karen Longhurst-Prior, senior staff nurse on the day treatment unit, said: “A lot of patients need supportive treatment alongside various chemotherapies and before we started our day treatment unit they would normally travel up to Barnstaple for things like that.

“Doing it here means they don’t have to travel, and we’re also seeing patients who would normally go to the hospitals in Exeter and Plymouth, which is brilliant as our site is closer to home for those patients too.”

Audiology services are provided at the hospital twice per week, supporting adults and children with hearing loss, hearing aids, tinnitus and balance problems. The team are planning to expand the service in the near future due to popularity.

One of the busiest services in the hospital is the physiotherapy outpatients service — around 500 patients use the service every month.

Antenatal and postnatal care is provided by the team of community midwives in the hospital. The clinics are getting busier and their antenatal classes are very popular.

A bladder and bowel service is also available twice per month. Speech and language therapists run clinics at the hospital and see patients at home.

A range of other services are also available, including the ‘TALKWORKS’ mental health service provided by Devon Partnership NHS Trust, and carers assessments, which are carried out by Devon Carers.

Devon Carers supports unpaid carers all across Devon. Carers in the Holsworthy area can complete a carers assessment at the hospital to find out what support is available to help them in their caring role.

Ellie Taylor, lead practitioner for awareness, said: “It can be important for carers to have their assessment in a place that’s convenient but is also outside the home in a place away from their caring responsibilities. With this service available at Holsworthy, busy carers don’t have to travel a long way to access this.”

The hospital is also the base for the community nursing and rehabilitation teams, who support patients in their homes.

These staff are also supporting NHS patients at Deer Park Care Home as part of the trial of beds for people at the end of life or with intensive rehabilitation needs.

One patient who has been supported by the community teams at home since January described their care as ‘amazing’.

She said: “All the people without exception and the equipment they’ve provided, it’s just amazing, all of it.

“The clinics are wonderful, the services are amazing, the people who are giving them are all dedicated and supportive, and the space is just brilliant. It just needs that little bit of development to grow, Holsworthy has it all really.”

For more information about all the services available, visit www.northdevonhealth.nhs.uk/patient-information/community/holsworthy-hospital