Inpatients at Exmouth Hospital to be temporarily relocated during fire safety improvement project

Inpatients at Exmouth Hospital are being temporarily relocated to another ward on the site while building owner NHS Property Services invests in fire safety improvements.

Beds on Doris Heard Ward are being moved to the vacant Geoffrey Willoughby Ward while a £50,000 project to safely remove asbestos and improve fire resistance takes place. A deep clean and air testing will also take place.

The works, carried out by Integral, will be undertaken from 21 May with the ward planned to be fully reopened during the week commencing 11 June 2018.

Due to the constraints of Geoffrey Willoughby Ward, the number of available beds will be temporarily reduced from 16 to 12 during this period.

Rosemary Kearney, Senior Facilities Management Business Manager for NHS Property Services (NHSPS) in the South West, said: “We’re working closely with our partners at the hospital to ensure services can, as far as possible, continue as normal.

“We’re sorry for any inconvenience but this is an essential project that will ultimately improve the fabric of Exmouth Hospital for patients for years to come.”

Donna Robson, Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust’s Matron at Exmouth Hospital, added: “Maintaining continuity of care for patients is our top priority. We’ve been working with NHSPS to ensure that any disruption is kept to a minimum during these necessary maintenance works. We’d like to thank our patients and visitors for their understanding during this time.”

All other services at the hospital are unaffected and patients should continue to attend their appointments as normal.

The need for the work was identified as part of a survey undertaken by NHSPS.