Longer hospital ambulance journeys raise concerns
BBCChanges to where some ambulance patients in Devon are taken for emergency treatment have prompted concerns about longer journeys and access to care.
Patients in postcode areas EX36, EX20 and EX22 who call an ambulance may now be taken to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital rather than North Devon District Hospital (NDDH) in Barnstaple.
One GP told the BBC some patients were concerned about being taken further from home and questioned the impact on ambulance availability in rural areas.
The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust said the changes, introduced on 27 July, were designed to reduce pressure on services, improve access to treatment and cut waiting times.
The trust said the move formed part of wider plans to improve urgent and emergency care across northern and eastern Devon, adding that patients attending NDDH had experienced longer waits than those attending Exeter.
Dr David Hillebrandt, a GP in Holsworthy, said some patients were worried about being treated further away from family and friends.
He said: "We're now seeing people, especially the elderly, have a look of panic on their face when they're told they're going completely the opposite direction.
"They know that visiting will be harder and that really increases their problems."
Hillebrandt also said he had heard of patients declining an ambulance journey to Exeter and instead asking relatives to drive them to Barnstaple.
He also questioned the effect on ambulance capacity in rural areas, citing a journey from South Molton to Barnstaple would take about 23 minutes, compared with about 57 minutes to Exeter.
The trust said the changes had been developed with the South Western Ambulance Service to help ensure patients received "the right care, in the right place, at the right time".
It added that NDDH remained "a vital acute hospital serving the communities across northern Devon".
The ambulance concerns come as health bosses say they "cautiously optimistic" that birthing services at NDDH could reopen by the end of September.
The trust suspended services on 11 August due to staffing issues, meaning women in north Devon have been facing long journeys to give birth.
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