News

The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is very proud to have seen an increase on its previous scores in the most recent national inpatient survey. The Trust is placed second in the top 10 acute and combined hospital Trusts’ over all ranking.

The Royal Devon ranks in the...

The Royal Devon has been awarded £1.4m to build a state-of-the-art clinical research facility in North Devon, and is one of only 30 NHS Trusts to have received this funding award.

Located at North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple, the dedicated hub will provide space and equipment for...

A £1.4m charity appeal has been launched to fund the cost of high-tech equipment for a ‘Super Theatre’ being built at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital (RD&E).

The new state-of-the-art operating theatre will provide specialist surgery for patients in Devon with aneurysms, blood clots...

We need people to help with PLACE assessments in November - have you got a few hours spare to help us?

What is a PLACE assessment?

Patient-led assessments of the care environment (PLACE) put the patient voice at the heart of assessing and improving the hospital ...

On the evening of Friday 4 October 2024, the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust held their Extraordinary People Awards ceremony to celebrate the incredible staff and volunteers who work across the Trust.

The awards recognise the outstanding contribution that staff and v...

Yesterday, Tuesday 1 October, we held a talk and Q&A on robotic surgery and our formal Annual Members’ Meeting (AMM).

It was fantastic to see lots of members of the public, staff, and governors, both in the room at the RD&E and on Microsoft Teams. Attendees had some great questions...

We were delighted to welcome Liberal Democrat party leader Sir Ed Davey and local MP Ian Roome to North Devon District Hospital (NDDH) today to learn about our plans to build a better hospital in North Devon.

Sir Ed and Ian were shown some of our estate which is most in need of investment,...

On Tuesday 8 October the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (Royal Devon) is testing what happens when its electronic patient record (EPR) is not operational.

Since 2020 the Royal Devon has used the Epic EPR to care for patients. It has helped the Trust improve patient ...

The Cardiac Day Case Unit (CDCU) at the RD&E Hospital (Wonford) held a celebration event on Friday 27 September to mark seeing its 1,000th patient, six months after it opened.

Since opening, it has significantly increased the number of cardiac patients the Royal Devon University Health...

Following the announcement of the New Hospital Programme Review by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in July 2024, the Terms of Reference for the review have now been agreed with the Chief Secretary of HM Treasury. The paper details which schemes will form part of the review and includes North Devo...

The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is excited to announce the return of its annual careers fair, offering an exciting glimpse into opportunities in Allied Health Professions, Pathology, and Pharmacy. The events take place on Saturday 12 October, from 9.30am - 120pm in Exet...

Video appointments let you talk to a clinician using your smartphone, tablet or computer. They are an excellent way to provide you with information, advice and support at a place that is most convenient to you.

In April this year, we changed the system we use for our video appointments to ...

In August, we let you know that a former trainee doctor at North Devon District Hospital, Salil Korambayil, had been sentenced to 14 years in prison for rape and a further 12 months for unlawful use of data. This was following the conclusion of the case and the lifting of reporting restrictions. ...

Following our election to the Council of Governors held this summer, we’re delighted to welcome nine new governors (seven public and two staff) and confirm the re-election of three current governors (two public and one staff).

Thank you to everyone who took part in this year’s election, an...

The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust will begin rolling out the national COVID-19 booster and flu vaccination programme on Thursday 3 October.

COVID-19 and flu spread more easily in winter when we spend more time together indoors and vaccination is the best protection...

World Patient Safety Day is on Tuesday 17 September and the theme this year is focused on improving diagnosis for patient safety.

To mark the day, we're shining a spotlight on the Devon Diagnostic Centre and the Buttercup Outpatient Unit, based at the NHS Nightingale Hospital Exeter, as th...

The Trust is pleased to announce the launch of the Our Future Hospital programme website.

Our Future Hospital (OFH) is the programme established by the Trust to develop North Devon District Hospital (NDDH), so that it can continue to deliver high-quality health and care services to local c...

It’s Organ Donation Week from 23-29 September, a time to reflect on what it means to give the gift of life to someone else.

To find out what’s happening with organ donation at the Royal Devon, we sat down for a chat with Kathryn Somers (pictured left), Specialist Nurse for Organ Donation, ...

Teams and individuals at the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust are celebrating becoming regional winners in this year’s NHS Parliamentary Awards.

The awards recognise the outstanding contribution of NHS staff, volunteers and other health and care sectors and give membe...

An eye specialist from the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has been appointed as one of the national clinical leads for ophthalmology at a national NHS programme for improving the treatment and care of patients.

Dr Liz Wilkinson is a Consultant Ophthalmologist at the...

Local people will have the opportunity to hear about advancements in the NHS at a public event taking place at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital (Wonford) and online, on Tuesday 1 October 2024, 12.30pm-4pm.

All are welcome to come along and hear from the Trust’s clinical experts, who wil...

The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is asking pregnant women and older people to come forward to be vaccinated against a respiratory virus from 1 September.

The vaccination programme for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), includes both a vaccine for pregnant women ov...

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued an urgent call to parents to ensure their children catch up on missed vaccinations before they head to the classroom, amid fears of a further surge in measles cases as the new term begins.

Uptake rates of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR)...

A former trainee doctor at North Devon District Hospital, Salil Korambayil, appeared in Truro Crown Court today and has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for rape and a further 12 months for unlawful use of data. Reporting restrictions on the case have now been lifted and we are glad we can no...

The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (Royal Devon) are extremely pleased that patients receiving cancer care from them rated their care higher than average in nearly all areas in the recent national cancer patient experience survey.

Overall, patient feedback was posit...

Over the last few days we have seen deplorable violence and intimidation in towns and cities across the UK. We wholeheartedly condemn the deliberate acts of violence and racism that have taken place and we want to make a clear statement about our values and behaviours as an organisation.

I...

I know from speaking to patients and local people that lots of you are worried about waiting times for treatment. In this month’s newsletter I wanted to update you on our position, and share the significant progress we’ve made in the past year. I also wanted to tell you ...

We are excited to announce the finalists for this year’s Extraordinary People Staff Awards.

We received over 500 nominations, which is testament to how grateful people are for the hard work of our staff and volunteers and their commitment to providing amazing care. Our judging panels have ...

This month, we take you behind the scenes to show you some of the work being done by a team that plays an important role in helping us to manage our waiting lists. We sat down with Simon Hellier, Deputy Patient Access Manager in our Northern Services, to find out more about what he and his collea...

The UK will become the first country in the world to have a national programme that uses the same vaccine to protect both newborns and older adults against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).

The roll-out, which will start from Sunday 1 September in England, includes both a vaccine for preg...

From Thursday 15 August 2024, patients and the public will pay the same to park at NHS hospitals across Devon, following a review. Car parking charges are regularly benchmarked against local authority car park charges, and as part of this review we have agreed to harmonise our approach to give si...

Mr Keith Eyres, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, recently celebrated finishing his 500th knee replacement surgery at the South West Ambulatory Orthopaedic Centre (SWAOC).

This represents another milestone for the centre, which is based at the NHS Nightingale Hospital Exeter. It has been ins...

The Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) will be experiencing staffing shortages during the week Monday 5 August – Friday 9 August. As a result, we may take longer than usual to respond to your query. 

Please bear with us and we will try to respond to you as soon as possible. Thank yo...

We will celebrate the achievements of hundreds of our caring staff and volunteers at an awards ceremony later this year, thanks to support from corporate sponsors.

Our Extraordinary People Awards recognise and celebrate the efforts and achievements of the staff and volunteers who work at t...

In March a former Trust employee, Alexander Knight (Grice), was convicted of five charges of downloading and viewing indecent images of children.

This is a particularly distressing criminal case and the Trust commissioned an independent review to help us understand what we could learn from...

A Royal Devon Honorary Consultant and Exeter University professor, Dr David Strain, has been named as one of eight Thematic Research Leads, who will act as a bridge between the new Parliament ...

The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is hosting a careers event to showcase community nursing careers, encouraging passionate individuals to join the team and make a difference in patients' lives.

The event will take place at Ilfracombe & District Tyrrell Hospital...

You can now nominate yourself to be a public governor for the Royal Devon and bring the voices of your community to our Trust.

Governors have a wide range of experiences and backgrounds, but what they share is a passion for championing the interests of staff and patients, and supporting lo...

Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (Royal Devon) is offering some patients the chance to cut down their waiting time and get an appointment at short notice. 

It is just a fact of life that sometimes patients are unable to attend their appointment and ...

The Nightingale Hospital Exeter celebrated the opening of a new unit that will provide state-of-the-art technology and innovation to further reduce waiting times for patients across Devon. Cardiology, Respiratory and Gastroenterology are now providing diagnostic services from the Buttercup unit w...

New data published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shows cases of whooping cough continue to increase with 2,591 cases confirmed in May. This follows 555 cases in January 2024, 920 in February, 1,427 in March and 2,106 in April – bringing the total number of cases from January to May 202...

The South West Genomic Medicine Service (SWGMS) is inviting enthusiastic volunteers to join their Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Forum.

Representing a partnership of NHS Trusts across the South West, including the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, the SWGMS prov...

On Friday 12 July we held the Our Future Hospital (OFH) open day at NDDH. We were thrilled with the high number of guests who attended and the lecture theatre was packed with people who heard talks from Dame Shan Morgan, Royal Devon Chair, Dr David Sanders, OFH Clinical Lead and Zara Hyde, OFH Pr...

A new poster celebrating the work of Chloe Orkin, an esteemed clinician and researcher at the Royal London Hospital and Queen Mary University of London, specialising in HIV/AIDS, has been unveiled in the Exeter Health Library in the RILD.

The poster is based on the winning entry of PRISM E...

The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has been successful in its application for £2m of funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to carry out research into respiratory disease, aiming to shed light on a health condition that adversely affects th...

An emerging star in the field of diabetes studies at the University of Exeter and Exeter Genomics Laboratory has won the 2024 European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Minkowski Prize.

Dr Elisa De Franco is the latest recipient of the Minkowski Prize which was established in 19...

A new national dementia network involving leading researchers at the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has been set up thanks to a £1.7million funding award.

Lead by the University of Exeter and University College London (UCL), the National Dementia Network Plus brings...

We are looking for people to bring the voices of their communities to our Trust by nominating themselves to be a public governor.

What is a governor?

Governors share their feedback with members of the Board of Directors, those at the highest level of the Trust, to r...