TIVERTON Hospital has received an early Christmas present after an NHS U-turn has meant all their beds will be open again.

The news came just four weeks after the announcement that the Blackdown ward would be temporarily closed.

Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust is taking over the 40 beds, which were closed by The Northern Devon Healthcare Trust.

Arthur Govier, chairman of the League of Friends of Tiverton Hospital, was delighted with the announcement.

He said: “Obviously it is great news. It was only closed in November by the then provider, Northern Devon NHS Foundation Trust.

“It looked like it was going to the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust in April.

“We thought it would be closed until the beginning of April. We have been very fortunate that they have stepped in and agreed to take it on.

“The league and the local people and I are just delighted.”

The Twyford ward has 23 beds and the Blackdown ward has 17 beds, which are set to be used from January 4 until March 31.

The RD&E will use beds on Twyford Ward at Tiverton Hospital for rehabilitation, which normally would be done at its main Wonford site, providing intensive physiotherapy and occupational therapy to patients to aid swifter recovery to independence.

The ward will focus on the smooth transition of patients to home or onward care and provide greater capacity across its sites.

Angela Pedder, chief executive of Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We have worked really closely with the team at Northern Devon Healthcare Trust to ensure we have the right services in place over winter.

“This is a great example of collaborative working to ensure we can deliver the same safe, high quality care for our patients but in a community hospital setting.

“This is not a permanent arrangement but will provide safe and timely care for all our patients during the busy winter period.”

Alison Diamond, chief executive of Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust said: “This is an excellent example of partnership working and a great outcome for patients.

“We were pleased to be able to offer the Tiverton inpatient beds to the RD&E and have had a very positive response from staff to these changes.

“The RD&E and NDHT have held joint meetings with staff this week to discuss how these proposals may impact them and staff have voted in favour of the proposal.

“Staff at all levels of the organisation are now working very closely with the RD&E to put these plans in place for before January.”