The petition of residents of the United Kingdom,
Declares that the proposed temporary co-location of the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust’s out-of-hours Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PPCI) services at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital will lead to increased travel times and potential delays in emergency cardiac treatment for residents in South Devon; and further declares that the protection of timely, local access to urgent cardiac care is essential.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to ensure NHS Devon reconsider the proposed co-location and to ensure that all PPCI services, including out-of-hours, remain accessible within the local area.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Caroline Voaden, Official Report, 22 May 2025; Vol. 767, c. 1299.]
[P003075]
Observations from the The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth):
The appropriate NHS commissioner is responsible for delivery, implementation, and funding decisions for services—in this case, Devon Integrated Care Board (ICB)—rather than the Government. The Government believe that local health and care organisations are best placed to make decisions on commissioning services for their communities, working with local authorities, stakeholders, and local populations to meet people’s needs.
The Government are aware that the ICB was due to consider a proposal on 29 May 2025 to establish a short-term, fixed-length “test and learn” process for out-of-hours primary percutaneous coronary intervention services in Torbay and Exeter. The Government understand that the chair and chief executive of the board then decided to withdraw the paper setting this out, in light of feedback received from staff, clinicians, patients, the public, and elected representatives.
The Government maintain that any changes to services should be informed by clinical best practice following appropriate engagement with patients and stakeholders. Substantial planned service change and reconfiguration of services are subject to a public consultation and must meet the Government and NHS England’s tests to ensure good decision-making and that proposals are demonstrated to be in the interests of service users and the wider public.
The Government understand that an update will now be presented to the board in July. The Government understand that a case for change will be developed that covers the whole cardiology pathway. The Government recommend that petitioners share their views directly with Devon ICB—as the commissioner of the regional healthcare services—who will be better placed to respond. Devon ICB’s contact details can be found online at
https://onedevon.org.uk/contact-us/