Bosses at Newton Abbot's new £25million hospital have come under fire after a 76-year-old fall victim with a broken arm was told she would have to travel to Torbay for treatment.

Evelyn Davies, who has been Newton Abbot Borough Crier for four years, tripped while on a shopping visit to Sainsbury's, Penn Inn, on Good Friday.

Her foot caught in a hole in the car park and she tumbled to the ground, landing awkwardly on her right arm.

Husband Michael and supermarket staff quickly rallied round, realising Mrs Davies (right) was in great pain.

Having received treatment for a cut finger she was then taken to the new hospital in Jetty Marsh where, it was hoped, medical staff would diagnose the problem and begin treatment.

'We went to the hospital as, being brand new, we thought there would be someone there who could help,' Mrs Davies told this newspaper.

'But we were told, sorry, it was a bank holiday and there was no x-ray or a fracture clinic.

'Staff were very friendly and they gave me a gown to wear as I couldn't get my jacket on, but they told me I would have to go to Torbay.

'What a stupid country this is. Surely there should be a clinic there open 24 hours a day?

'What is the point of having this posh new hospital if it can't offer services such as x-rays at times like the weekend when people are playing football and other sports and are likely to be injured?

'I just don't think it's very good at all.'

Mrs Davies, who described her arm as 'very, very painful', was later told by medics at Torbay that she had sustained a break just below the shoulder.

The nature of the injury means her arm cannot be set in plaster but merely strapped up and left to heal naturally with painkillers taken on a regular basis.

The Devon NHS Primary Care Trust, the organisation which operates Newton Abbot Hospital, issued a brief statement about Mrs Davies' case.

It said: 'Newton Abbot Hospital does not offer x-ray services at week-ends or on bank holidays. This patient was referred to South Devon Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.'

Devon PCT has come in for criticism several times in the past when it reduced opening hours at all its minor injury units including Newton Abbot which, historically, had offered a round-the-clock service.