WE in Torrington support your campaign to save your inpatient beds and your hospital. The Northern Devon Healthcare Trust and Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) have a policy to close community hospitals in order to make financial savings. They "temporarily" closed the beds in Torrington Hospital in August 2013 and trialled a six-month cost cutting "Care closer to home" scheme. They had hoped to refer to this scheme as a "model of success", in fact it has been an abject failure in every respect. The Trust/CCG are following a similar pattern in Crediton and Ilfracombe but with a different excuse/reason. The end product, that they have omitted to inform or consult us all about properly, is their intention to close the beds permanently, and transfer care into the community. This involves sending patients directly home, into private nursing homes, or possibly sending some patients, to another community hospital miles away. Being too far for relatives to reach easily it comes with a financial cost to the relative or friend. (See NDHT's website under Vision and Strategy, Resource hub). It started with you being told, without any prior consultation, that the hospital beds would close, just like Torrington. I note the same reason (excuse) was given to Ilfracombe this week for the closing of their hospital i.e. a shortage of staff. This shortage has been caused by a deliberate management strategy of running down community hospitals. Councillor Bob Thompson at the Ilfracombe town council meeting was right when he said: "I haven't heard any excuse or good reason for shutting it down. All the problems that we have discussed here are your management's problems". Torrington has suffered the same lack of consultation, courtesy and openness. The Trust/CCG in their dealings with the Torrington community, at every stage have lacked honesty, transparency and integrity. (see our website http://www.stitch.org.uk">www.stitch.org.uk for proof). Those dealings are set out in a 22-page report together with 39 appendices of evidence supporting the points we have made. A sample of 17 patient stories show the negative change this has had on the well-being of patients, who continue to suffer under this failed social experiment. Alison Diamond (Trust CEO) was reported as stating that: "While the inpatient beds are shut, staff responsible for the ward will be reallocated to other community hospitals and community support teams, a scheme which is expected to be expanded in future years." Within this statement she is referring to the plan to bring the "Care closer to home" scheme which is in place in Torrington now and will be forced upon you, and is being rolled out Devon wide. It has been a disaster for patients in our town. It is a service underfunded and under resourced with front line staff stoically working under pressure. It has led to nearly a quarter of a million pounds being taken from the healthcare budget of our town. The fight goes on in Torrington. We want to help – your fight is our fight! John Wardman (on behalf of Margaret Brown Chair of STITCH - Save The Irreplaceable Torrington Community Hospital)