Delays in delivering the nationwide New Hospitals Programme have triggered a controversial decision to move some of Torbay Hospital’s services to Exeter.
In a new statement, the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust has explained its strategy, reassuring concerned local patients that there will be no changes to where they receive their care.
“These changes are about improving how we provide laboratory services, not about moving patient care away from Torbay,” the statement says.
Local campaigners fear that moving the services will impact care, and could lead to a gradual down-grading of Torbay’s hospital facilities. The bay’s MP, Liberal Democrat Steve Darling, has expressed concerns about the removal of jobs from Torbay to Exeter and the future viability of Torbay Hospital.
The trust insists that services will not be down-graded.
The New Hospitals Programme was first announced in 2020 when Boris Johnson was Prime Minister. He pledged that 40 new NHS hospitals would be built by 2030 at a cost of £3.7billion.
But the Labour government reviewed the project when it was elected in 2024, concluding that the plans of the previous Conservative administration had not been costed properly and were ‘undeliverable and unaffordable’.
Now the programme has been changed, to deliver 19 new hospitals and 19 expansions by 2040. Torbay Hospital is included in Wave Two, with construction scheduled to begin between 2033 and 2035.
One of the areas causing concern for local patients including members of the Torbay-based Heart Campaign has been the decision to move some pathology services from Torbay to Gadeon House on the outskirts of Exeter.
The new laboratory there is being partly funded by £7.5million from Torbay Council, which the council says is not a loan but a ‘capital contribution and works deed’. The money will, however, be paid back with interest according to the council.
In its new statement the trust says: “We recognise there has been interest and some confusion about plans for pathology services at Torbay Hospital and the use of Gadeon House.
“We want to be clear about what this means for our services and for the people we care for.”
It says histopathology – the study of cells to diagnose disease, is an essential part of the treatment of cancer and other serious conditions. At Torbay Hospital the service is currently delivered from a temporary facility that is no longer suitable for long-term use.
“While services continue to operate safely, the building does not meet the standards we need for the future,” says the statement.
“Earlier plans to replace this facility on site at Torbay Hospital through the New Hospital Programme did not progress, so we have been working to find a safe, modern and sustainable solution.”
Gadeon House, it says, will provide a modern, fit-for-purpose environment.
The statement goes on: “We know people may be concerned about whether changes to cellular pathology could affect urgent and emergency care or cancer pathways at Torbay Hospital. These arrangements are being designed to ensure that patients continue to receive safe and timely care.”
If histopathology services are needed urgently, says the statement, they could still be provided on the Torbay site.
The trust says it is continuing to develop plans to support the future of Torbay Hospital, including the recent purchase of land at the Edginswell business park from Torbay Council, which will be used in the short term as a car park before other services are put there in the longer term.
“This is part of a wider, phased approach to making the best use of our estate – addressing immediate pressures while supporting the longer-term redevelopment of the hospital,” the statement says.
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