THE following letter has been sent to Mel Stride, MP for Central Devon. DEAR Mr Stride In my opinion and that of the Royal British Legion and the Disabled Access Group, who I represent and also I believe the Groups that I also belong to, Devon Senior Voice, The Hospital League of Friends, not to mention the nearly 4,000 people who signed the petition, all believe that the situation regarding Crediton Hospital is now critical. I know that you read the Crediton Courier and you will have seen the many letters that have been written over the last year that have given many reasons why our hospital should remain one that has beds. We have no confidence in the North Devon Health Care Trust who obviously made the decision to close the beds about two years ago. Rumours circulated, which resulted in the staff problems that they have so often cited as the reason for closure. Would you apply for a job with a company that was about to close? They made promises at the meetings that I attended that no decision would be made before December 12, yet I understand the beds were removed prior to this date. Again, if proof was needed, that they had already made the decision. We were assured that the stroke beds would not be moved until a suitable place was made in Exeter. About 12 days before the date given, we were told that the beds were going to Ottery St Mary. The reason given was better accessability. Not only is Crediton nearer to Exeter but buses pass the gates of our Hospital every half-hour. I wrote to the Health Minister and the Head of the NHS and attach copies of the replies. The one from the NHS was useless, as all it said was write to the NDHCT. The one from The Minister was more detailed as he had been in contact with the Trust, who gave him the same old answers, but did contain the sentence, "The Trust has stated that the closures are only temporary and services will be reopened when the strategy is developed." Why then were beds removed? The NDHCT are in the dying days of their Stewardship and we are extremely concerned, that in the time left, they are planning changes that might preclude the use of the Hospital as one with beds in the future. In a rural area such as ours, we are convinced that the cost of "Care in the Home" will become unsustainable very quickly. This coupled with the fact that some 400 new houses are to be built, the increasing age of the population, in addition to the lack of "Step Down" beds make it vital to retain the viability of our Hospital. In your interview in the Courier last September, you cast doubts on the costings and the whole procedure. How right you were! With the present crisis in Accident and Emergency departments and the fact that we have less beds per head of population, we should be opening beds, not closing them. It is a ludicrous situation where the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, which we all regard as our "big" hospital, is really struggling, when only 20 minutes away, is a 24 bed modern Hospital which could provide instant "step down" facilities. It could also return to a place where people in the last few days of their lives could be looked after with dignity and be close to their relatives. I am going to ask you, on behalf of the people I represent, and I believe the inhabitants of Crediton, to approach the Health Minister and ask for our Hospital to be made an Annexe of the RD and E. This would not only solve local problems, but just as importantly make sure that when the Health Trust go out to tender later in the year, we do not find ourselves in the ridiculous situation we are in at the moment, of being run by some remote body. In spite of assurances, we believe that the NDHCT may already have plans that might effect the viability of our Hospital as one with beds. May I ask you on our behalf to ask NDHCT for a "cast iron" guarantee that they do nothing in their last few months that would in any way jeopardise its future. Sorry it's so long, but it is something that both I and I know the people of Crediton feel most strongly about. John Higgs Gordon Terrace Park Street Crediton