Latest news with #SomersetNHS
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
7 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Somerset community hospital beds could close as trust reviews services
The number of inpatient beds at two community hospitals could be cut by a third if proposals go ahead. Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has confirmed it is in the "very early" stages of a consultation to reduce beds at Frome Community Hospital from 24 to 16, with a similar number of beds under threat at West Mendip Hospital in trust said it was looking at the "mix and balance" of its community services after an "increase" in people being cared for at MP for Frome and East Somerset Anna Sabine has set up a petition to stop what she described as "short-sighted" proposals, which she claimed could also see a number of job cuts. Ms Sabine, who has launched the petition alongside councillor for Frome North Adam Boyden, claimed the closures were being proposed because too few patients were being discharged from Bath's Royal United Hospital (RUH) to she said that when she toured the RUH - which is run by a different NHS authority to Frome - she was told their main problem is that they do not have suitable places to discharge patients into."We know the Royal United Hospitals struggle to discharge people and yet we're closing beds which would help this," she Sabine said she is concerned that there is "a lack of joined up discussion" between Somerset NHS and the RUH. 'Well thought out plan' However the MP for Glastonbury and Somerton, Sarah Dyke, whose constituency includes West Mendip Hospital, has given the proposals a cautious said while she understood residents might be "concerned" at the planned bed closures, after an urgent meeting with the hospital trust's chief executive last week she believed the "overall direction of movement" was "the right one"."He has reassured me that this isn't a cost cutting exercise, but part of a well thought out strategic plan to shift reliance on community beds, moving the balance of care back to the home. But only when people are well enough to leave acute care within the hospital setting."She added that she understands "the funds and staff previously used for community hospital beds will be redeployed to make sure there are enough services in the community to facilitate this shift". But Ms Sabine said while Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has promised more services at community hospitals across the county - this is not necessarily for Frome. "We suffer a little bit from being on the edge of Somerset and working with a hospital that is not in control by the same organisation and therefore we haven't had that guarantee," she said."It worries me that this is another example of Frome being short changed."She said the "short-sighted" approach to reduce beds in Frome did not take into account the difficulty people have getting to the RUH by public transport."Our hospitals don't need fewer beds, they need proper investment," she added. Somerset NHS Foundation Trust told the BBC the proposal aims to "ensure" community care is offered "in the most appropriate setting".A spokesperson said there has been an increase in people receiving care at home in recent years as well as "significant investment" in services to support patients at home following an acute hospital admission."We are therefore looking at the range, mix and balance of NHS services that are provided in people's own homes, community hospital services and community hospital beds," they said."As a result, we are adjusting the number of beds that we are providing in some community hospitals to better match the demand, which includes a proposed reduction of eight beds at Frome Community Hospital, from 24 to 16."Alongside this, we are also looking at what other services we could provide in our community hospital settings, that are currently provided in the two main acute hospitals as we look to provide services more locally where it makes sense and is feasible to do so."Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust has been approached for comment.
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Protest at six month closure of Yeovil District's maternity unit
More than 200 people gathered outside a hospital to protest against the temporary closure of its birthing and special baby care closure of two units at Yeovil District Hospital, in Somerset, comes after it was served a warning notice by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for failing to meet staffing regulations in its paediatric the protesters were parents who have either had children at the unit or are expecting Atkins, whose daughter was born at the hospital four days ago, said "our outcome could have been very different" had she been to her next closest hospital 50 minutes away in Bath. Peter Lewis, chief executive for Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, said: "The Care Quality Commission raised concerns that we have been trying to resolve, but some of those we haven't been able to resolve."In the last week we have had sickness amongst our senior doctors in our paediatric service which has made it very fragile."He said the trust cannot run the maternity service without the special care baby Yeovil maternity staff will remain there to carry out antenatal appointments and screenings while others may relocate to Taunton's Musgrove Park, Bath or Dorchester hospitals during the closure the protesters with her husband Josh, Mrs Atkins said their daughter Dotty was "born within five minutes" of arriving at the hospital."We planned to have a home birth but unfortunately things started to go wrong, so we were blue-lighted to here in Yeovil." Megan and Kyle Williams told the BBC their baby arrived seven-and-a-half weeks early last year, and needed an emergency Williams said for them, the closest service is an hour away."What about in peak traffic? What if it all goes wrong and you have an hour, possibly more, stuck in traffic?" he said. Adam Dance, Yeovil MP, said: "It's absolutely amazing to have this many people turn up and hearing the stories. "I got into politics to fight for people and make our community better. This is not making our community better. "The leadership need to really wake up. The time is a huge important factor. "Trying to send people to Musgrove is going to be an absolute disaster. We need to get this unit open as soon as we can."Mr Lewis added: "There are clearly challenges with getting the right people in place and the right capacity in place so it's difficult to absolutely guarantee six months to the day, but that's what we're working on."
BBC News
16-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Yeovil maternity unit closure a 'shock' to pregnant woman
A pregnant woman says she is "gobsmacked" that the maternity unit where she was due to give birth is being closed for safety District Hospital is temporarily shutting its birthing units on Monday 19 May after failing to meet staffing regulations in its paediatrics who is 29 weeks into a high-risk pregnancy, said: "I am extremely nervous about giving birth as a first-time mum, so moving hospital is not ideal."I'm classed as high-risk due to the IVF and due to my previous complications, so I have to have a consultant. I can't do a home birth and really don't want to move to a hospital more than an hour away." The closure at Yeovil comes after it was served a warning notice by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), external for failing to meet staffing regulations in its paediatrics from Wincanton, added: "We live 10 miles from Yeovil – now our options are Taunton, Bath, Dorchester or Salisbury which are all over 30-35 miles away so we're looking at least an hour's journey to deliver the baby when I'm in labour."I cannot fault Yeovil for anything they've done. They've put my mind at rest and I'm gobsmacked at this news." 'Shortage of doctors' Dr Melanie Iles, chief medical officer at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, said it was "really hard to say whether it will only be six months, or not" as the hospital is struggling with a shortage of senior said: "I can't promise it will only be six months - we're working extremely hard to try and achieve that."The Care Quality Commission inspected paediatric services in January 2025 and issued a Section 29A warning notice because it assessed that the paediatric care at Yeovil District Hospital requires significant news of the birthing services closure comes a year after a critical report into maternity services at both hospitals in that were due to take place at Yeovil will now either be moved to Taunton's Musgrove Park, Bath's Royal United Hospital or Dorchester with the midwifery team contacting patients in the coming days. More than 1,200 babies were born at Yeovil District Hospital last year, with 3,000 births at Musgrove Park Hospital in maternity services, like antenatal appointments, are expected to continue at Yeovil during the six-month closure said she is in the process of transferring all care over to another hospital if she can and leave Yeovil said: "The last thing I want to do is have all my antenatal clinic appointments and consultant appointments at Yeovil and then have my baby at a different hospital with a different consultant." Hannah Francis gave birth at Yeovil District Hospital in October said her son was delivered via c-section and it was "so overcrowded" that there "were five new born babies in a tiny room"."It kind of felt like stepping back in time with the building," she said."The midwives were doing the best they could in the situation they are in but there was so little communication," she Francis said while she was "not medically ready to leave the hospital" she just "had to get out".The CQC report from 2024 acknowledged staff at the trust were "keen to improve the services and some of the problems were out of local leaders' control".
