We were delighted to welcome Rachel Gilmour, MP for Tiverton and Minehead, to Tiverton and District Hospital on Tuesday 12 August.

Rachel met with Chief Executive Officer Sam Higginson, Chair Shan Morgan, and Clinical Lead for Planned Care in the Community Care Group, Dr Lucy Miller. They gave Rachel an overview of our strengths and opportunities in delivering community care, as well as talking to Rachel about some of our key priorities.

On a tour of the hospital, staff talked to Rachel about the interface between the inpatient, outpatient and day-case services delivered at the hospital, and the care we provide in patients’ homes. This includes our urgent community response team who support patients to stay safe at home and intervene where extra support is needed, as well as how we support local patients on our virtual ward (acute hospital at home).

Rachel saw an example of how we are bringing acute services into the community, with a tour of our new modern endoscopy unit. She also learned how our Trust-owned GP practice, Castle Place, is able to triage patients for primary care based on their needs and clinical urgency. 

Rachel was impressed with how the services in Tiverton work together to support patients to get the care they need. Rachel said: "It was fantastic to visit Tiverton and District Hospital for the first time as MP. Living locally, I know how important the hospital is for people in Mid Devon, delivering a variety of care services closer to home. 

"It was great to meet with staff across the hospital and see such a well-run ship. I look forward to returning in September for the grand opening of the new state-of-the-art endoscopy unit. A big thank you to the staff for showing me around the site."

A huge thank you to everybody involved in the visit.