Gerald C Lavers, vice-chairman Teignmouth Hospital League of Friends, sends us a précis of his letter sent, on behalf of the group, to the chief executive Devon and Torbay CCG:

On behalf of Teignmouth Hospital League of Friends, we as committee members express our concern regarding the proposed reorganisation of our local hospital.

Option 1, with the removal of acute beds and the accompanying loss of fully qualified nursing staff, together with the closure of the MIU, would result in Teignmouth Hospital being reduced to a clinic linked to 'rehabilitation' beds.

Surely patients entering hospital begin as having acute needs, being nursed then moving into the rehabilitation situation. If Dawlish Hospital has the only 'acute' beds, will patients be 'bussed' to Teignmouth for their rehabilitation?

Option 2 is a threatened option, where Teignmouth Hospital would become no more than a 'Super' clinic.

Are these the best options that the Locality CCG can come up with? Are they being limited, by the area health authority?

q In both options, Teignmouth still retains its excellent physiotherapy department, and operating theatre, together with the apparatus which the people of Teignmouth have generously provided. We question for how much longer, given the proposed downgrading?

q At Christmas 14 beds were in use at Teignmouth Hospital: where will such patients go in the future? Projections produced by Devon County Council indicate an increase in Teignmouth's population to 21,600 in 2021, whilst that of Dawlish would rise to 16,193 in 2026.

If these forecasts are realistic, then why should Teignmouth Hospital lose its major facilities?

q Teignmouth hospital has a functioning X-ray unit, available to the community, including local doctors' surgeries, the hospital physiotherapy unit, consultants using the operating theatre and the MIU. If a suggested 'Super Doctor Surgery' be based at the hospital, even more use could be made of both MIU and the X-ray facility.

When using the NHS space recommendations, regarding beds, Teignmouth Hospital has more than enough to allow for the 16 deemed necessary for economic viability.

q How will the input and feelings, obtained from the consultation exercise, be used in the formation of the completed reorganisation proposal? The fear is that the consultation will have no influence upon future developments. The exercise appears to favour the two PFI hospitals, which for the immediate future require a large financial commitment.

q The League of Friends of Teignmouth Hospital, on behalf of our local community, would be unable to consider supporting either of the two proposals and request that further consideration be given to producing an option which would retain and make better use of the facilities at Teignmouth.

We should keep our hospital (the first NHS hospital in the country) as a fully functioning hospital, a clinical 'hub' will not suffice for the growing needs of Teignmouth's increasing population.

To this end we consider it essential that fully qualified nursing staff and medical experience should always be available at Teignmouth Hospital; furthermore we would wish that an MIU service should be retained at this site.