THERE is a lot of barely suppressed excitement at the new Newton Abbot Community Hospital this week. Patients started moving into the Jetty Marsh site on Monday and staff transferring to their new airy, spacious surroundings can't seem to believe their luck.

'I've been like a kid in a sweet shop,' announced Claire Rockett, head of audiology.

Asked what she thinks of the new hospital, Val Varley, senior physiotherapist in Reablement, rolls her eyes and laughs.

'There's no comparison. It is lovely and light and bright. It is going to make a huge difference to our working conditions. It's 90 per cent better.'

'A hundred and fifty per cent,' corrects Diane Freame, locality administrator.

'The old hospital served us well but it was beyond it's sell-by date.'

Chic is not a word often associated with hospital design but with the expanse of glass, sleek modern lines, bright colours and pale wood, Newton Abbot's hospital definitely is chic. The pared-down design serves a practical purpose: infection control. There are no radiators to harbour germs, floors are bevelled to the wall, making cleaning easier. Hand wash basins are strategically placed.

It is not too fanciful to compare the 'wow' factor as you enter the reception area with a modern arts centre. A giant plasma screen plays silently by a waiting area, a couple of laptops are on hand for public use, while outside fluttering bamboo induces a Zen-like calm.

The £25m hospital was built by Ryhurst Management Services under the PFI initiative and for the next 30 years their maintenance arm will be looking after it. The consensus seems to be that they have made a pretty good job of it.

Devon Primary Care Trust has put £1m into new medical equipment. And this is very good news for the people of Teignbridge, meaning fewer patient journeys to Torbay and less hassle for staff as all hospital services are concentrated under one roof.

For the first time in 30 years, expectant mothers will be able to have their babies at Newton Abbot and two or three hours later be back home.

'We're very excited about it because it is going to offer women a choice,' said Rachael Glasson, community midwifery matron.

Because the new maternity suite has no emergency facilities, the option will be offered only to mothers deemed low risk and agreed with the mother's community midwife. If any emergency arises, they will be rushed to the more extensive facilities at Torbay.

A new paediatric therapy unit will bring big improvements for children's services. Before now babies under eight months had to be taken to Torbay for hearing tests, but no longer.

Claire Rockett, head of audiology said they now have five rooms, with a sound-proofed booth for carrying out hearing tests, in place of the frankly inadequate space they had in the 110-year-old building in East Street.

'I've been like a kid in a sweet shop for about two years. I've been involved from the very beginning. The patients think it's fantastic,' she said.

There are plans to coordinate clinics with opthalmology, so that children with both hearing and sight problems can be seen on a single day. Before they might have had to traipse to and fro maybe five times to Torbay. There are also plans for a hearing aid repair clinic to bring speedier help to those with hearing difficulties.

The new ground floor physiotherapy gym opens out onto gardens where patients can practice walking along a ramp, or next to that, on steps.

Physio Sally Brimacombe says: 'The IT is awesome. We've got computers in each cubicle which makes it so much easier.'

Upstairs in Reablement, senior physiotherapist Val Varley, points out the new equipment, including three exercise bikes given by the League of Friends. Reablement offers help to those regaining mobility perhaps after a stroke or amputation and runs a Falls Prevention Service.

One of their first patients, John Parkinson, from Newton Abbot, is receiving treatment from physio David Roberts, after a fractured ankle led to back problems.

'Make sure you get my best side,' he instructs the photographer with a laugh. 'I'm getting superb treatment.'

The League of Friends have paid for The Sanctuary, an attractive space for those needing a bit of quiet. They have also bought artworks by local craftspeople which appear in glass cabinets along the corridors and will be used to orient patients, ie. when you reach the vase, turn left.

There's more whizz-bang equipment in Imaging. They have taken delivery of the first Carestream Direct View DR equipment in the south west. It delivers better quality pictures for a lower X-ray dose and is able to position itself automatically, making life easier for the radiographers.

'The images are significantly better. You get a better image quality for less patient dose,' says Johanna Cotton, applications and image quality specialist.

The facilities for inpatients are vastly improved. Wards have no more than four beds, the majority of the 60 beds are in single rooms with private bathrooms. Each bed is placed to give a view over woodland or gardens. No more coin slot TV, flat plasma screens are sited by each bed and sitting area.

Some rooms are equipped with hoists which can lift patients into the bathroom.

Locality administrator Diane Freame points at the slots in the ceiling, along which the hoist runs.

'The technology we have got is very good.'