Tiverton hospital is to temporarily lose 16 of its beds - to ensure that staff resources aren't overstretched there. The Trust running community hospitals is having to make cutbacks, because of a limit on the amount it can spend on agency staff.
The health trust says it prefers to use its own hospital staff who're familiar with its procedures rather than those from agencies - and anyway that budget has now been capped.
In response 16 beds at Tiverton hospital will be closed - and Sidmouth's minor injuries unit has been shut until March.
The number of hospitals offering day treatments will also be reduced- and the transfer of some patients from Exeter RD&E to east Devon's community hospitals has been stopped.
However the trust says it's working to find alternatives to closing beds at the community hospitals in Exeter, Exmouth, Ottery, Seaton, Sidmouth and Honiton.
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