THE fight is on to save a valued in-patient unit for dementia sufferers in Honiton.

THE fight is on to save a valued in-patient unit for dementia sufferers in Honiton.

As Honiton Town Council waits for a written response to questions put to John Rom, of Devon Partnership NHS Trust, local Conservatives have launched their own campaign to save The Bungalow from closure.

The unit, which has been supported by public subscription since its inception in the 1980s, failed to re-open after urgent roof repairs were completed in July.

Services at the unit have been "suspended" say health bosses.

Devon Partnership NHS Trust has revealed it is not going to "rush to provide" all the services it has traditionally offered, while a major review of provision for mental health patients is carried out.

The news has angered those who have supported the unit and seen the many benefits it has offered to dementia sufferers and their carers.

Vic Bowsher, chairman of Honiton Hospital League of Friends, says he could "fill the unit twice over".

Former mayor Councillor Sally Casson has described the closure of The Bungalow as "a travesty".

And GP Philip Courtney has accused the Trust of letting the unit "wither and die".

Town and district councillor Peter Halse and the Conservatives' prospective parliamentary candidate for Tiverton and Honiton Neil Parish have launched a campaign to save the unit.