Ms Saxby visited North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple on Friday 6 May and was joined on the visit by Dr Sarah Wollaston and Dame Shan Morgan. Dr Wollaston is Chair designate of the Integrated Care System for Devon, former MP for Totnes and former chair of the House of Commons Health Select Committee and chair of the Liaison Committee, and Dame Shan Morgan is the new Chair of the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

The party was first shown around the newly upgraded CT scanning suite by Dr Sarah Johnson, Consultant Radiologist, NDDH & Associate Medical Director. £3m has been invested in this facility, which includes £2.3m of Government funding.
Ms Saxby also visited the Over and Above Fern Centre, which provides information and support to those affected by cancer. While at the Fern Centre the visitors took part in a discussion with Royal Devon staff about the exciting Our Future Hospital programme, which was set up in response to the acute site of North Devon District Hospital (NDDH) being confirmed as an investment priority in the national New Hospital Programme.

The visit concluded with a look at Jubilee ward, the new modular build orthopaedic facility currently under construction, which is due to open later this month.. Funding for the building has come from £700m released by the Government as part of the Targeted Investment Fund (TIF) to help tackle waiting lists and improve care. NDHT has received more than £1.9m for the project. It will provide 10 beds that will be set aside for planned orthopaedic surgery, such as knee and hip operations.

Ms Saxby said: “‘It was great to be able to see the investment that has been made into North Devon District Hospital. I was particularly impressed with the rapid development of the Jubilee Ward, a new ward to specifically help reduce the backlog of elective orthopaedic surgeries, not just here but to help relieve pressures from around Devon.
“Having received government funding in December they are planning to be open by the end of the month and, as the ward name suggests, in time for Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee. An incredible logistical job all round and will hold us in good stead to receive further investment.”

Dame Shan Morgan, Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Trust Chair said: “We were delighted to welcome Ms Saxby and Dr Wollaston to NDDH and show them our recent developments and share our plans for the future.”

Visiting the new Jubilee ward modular build with Paul Humphreys, Capital Operations Manager and Sam Wadham-Sharpe, Divisional Director, Surgical Division