Latest news with #MusgroveParkHospital
BBC News
6 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Sickness and bullying behind Yeovil maternity unit closure, MP claims
An MP has claimed high staff sickness rates at a maternity unit which has been temporarily closed were driven in part by District Hospital in Somerset announced its maternity unit would be closed for at least six months in May, attributing the closure to "high levels of sickness" among senior Tuesday, Yeovil MP Adam Dance told the House of Commons staff absences were "partly caused by a lack of support, and toxic work culture, and bullying from management".The Somerset NHS Foundation Trust said it would "continue" to speak with MPs about their concerns. Mr Dance told the BBC he is "really concerned" the unit will not the debate on Tuesday, minister for secondary care Karin Smith said local leaders had assured her it is "not intended to be permanent".Bridgwater MP Sir Ashley Fox said "mothers across Somerset will suffer" while the unit is after the debate, Mr Dance said he had been told finance issues were not the reason for the closure, but added: "If it's not down to money, why aren't they looking at getting locums [temporary staff] in?"He also questioned how the NHS trust would recruit staff for a service which is "shutting down"."I haven't seen any jobs advertised online, maybe I'm not looking in the right place but they should be accessible and easy to see," he told the BBC. Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton, which will care for many of the women who would have given birth in Yeovil, was declared "inadequate" in a report by health watchdog Care Quality Commission last have previously described the hospital's maternity service as "traumatic, super hot and overcrowded".Mr Dance told the BBC he had seen an increase in women planning to have home births as they would not feel safe at Musgrove. "If something goes wrong - where are they going to go? Because having to get in a car to go 45 minutes to Taunton might be too long," he said. A spokesperson for the NHS Trust thanked Mr Dance for securing the debate, adding: "We had a discussion with MPs this morning to talk through and respond to their concerns and questions, and we will continue to do this." They also said everyone had been "given the opportunity to speak to their midwife about their choices for place of birth", and urged expectant parents to speak to the Trust, Somerset Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership about their concerns.
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Dad 'old self again' after losing 76kg with weight loss treatment
A man said his life had changed for the better since having a new kind of weight loss treatment. Dave Pulford from Yeovil, Somerset, underwent a procedure in which he swallowed a balloon to help him lose weight ahead of gastric bypass Pulford, who is one of the first NHS patients to undergo the procedure, has now lost 12 stone (76kg).Consultant bariatric surgeon Dave Mahon said: "It's not weight loss surgery - it's improving health surgery." The new type of weight loss treatment involves ingesting a capsule containing a gastric pill inflates inside the stomach to allow some initial weight loss, which then makes a patient eligible to have a gastric bypass operation."I'm really happy to see him be his old self again," said his daughter Izzy Pulford said they can now do more activities together like walking, going for a coffee or holidays which she said had been "very difficult" before the surgery. Staff at Musgrove Park Hospital said "more and more" patients were now being offered the balloon pill as part of the "toolkit" to help patients lose weight."Dave's done incredibly well" and "exceeded our expectations" said bariatric specialist nurse Kirsty Locke, who has followed Dave throughout his weight loss consultant, Mr Mahon, said the treatment also benefited the NHS as "it reduces the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, having a stroke, heart attack and even various forms of cancer". Ms Locke said it was important that patients received psychological support as well as physical Pulford said an unexpected negative for him of losing weight was that he now suffered with body he would never look at himself in the mirror but he now looks more frequently at his reflection and can be very critical. However, Mr Pulford said the success of his weight loss and its coverage in the media had meant strangers stopped him in the street to congratulate him. "A lady came up to me and touched me on the arm and she just looked at me and said, 'I'm so proud of you'."It was a journey I didn't think that was ever going to happen to me. "I think I had almost been sleepwalking into sort of having some major medical problems."I am critical of myself, but then I go, 'no, look how far you've gone'," he added.
