Latest news with #SomersetNHSFoundationTrust
BBC News
13-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Temporary closure for Yeovil maternity unit after warning
A hospital's birthing service is to close for six months amid a warning from the health watchdog about its paediatric District Hospital was served a warning notice by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). It comes after a series of earlier critical reports on Somerset's maternity statement on the paediatric service said the warning was issued "for failing to meet the regulations related to staffing and governance systems".It means the only maternity unit in Somerset left fully open is at Taunton's Musgrove Park Hospital. There are also units in Bath and Dorchester. The paediatric staffing problems are understood to have a knock-on for maternity services which have resulted in the temporary closure of birthing services at maternity services, like antenatal appointments, are expected to continue at Yeovil during the six month 1,200 babies were born at Yeovil District Hospital last year, with 3,000 births at Musgrove Park news of the birthing services closure comes a year after a critical report into maternity services at both hospitals in watchdog found there was expired milk in a fridge at Musgrove Park and criticised staff in Yeovil for not washing their hands when entering clinical CQC acknowledged staff at the trust were "keen to improve the services and some of the problems were out of local leaders' control".Chief executive for Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, Peter Lewis, said at the time: "The real issue is that we do recognise that we have fallen short of the standards that are expected and the standards that we would expect."It's important to say sorry to the families that do use our services, but also sorry to the colleagues that work very hard in those services, some of which the CQC has recognised in a positive way."A report to a Somerset Council health scrutiny committee this week said the Trust had made "significant progress", completing 92% of all improvement actions outlined in the CQC maternity inspection reports.
BBC News
09-04-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Grieving Hoptonheath mother in mortuary row fights on
A woman who was unable to see her son's body for 10 days said a meeting with the NHS trust that manages the mortuary did not address her Baker's 20-year-old Royal Navy engineer son, Joe, died in a crash in November 2023 while travelling to his base in Yeovilton, Baker said Somerset NHS Foundation Trust told her they only gave next of kin access "under exceptional circumstances".The trust said it could not allow access until directed by the coroner, but also apologised and said communication was not clear. But Mrs Baker said she was left without answers and has enlisted the help of her MP. She said Joe's body had been taken to Musgrove Park Hospital mortuary in Taunton."Quickly, it became evident that under no circumstances was I going to be able to see Joe," she said."They couldn't give me a timescale or any detail as to how badly injured he was."We were just constantly met with, 'it's protocol, there's not much information we can give you at this time'."Mrs Baker, from Hoptonheath on the Shropshire-Herefordshire border, is now campaigning for Joe's Law, which would give families immediate access to their deceased loved ones. She said, after her meeting with the trust, that it had decided to make a she said: "The only change they've now agreed to is the fact that moving forward, they've decided that between the trust and the coroner that they're going to liaise more. So basically they're going to talk to each other.""They do let next of kin in to see their loved ones under exceptional circumstances," she added."You've just been told your son's dead. It doesn't get more exceptional than that, so I asked them to explain what their exceptional circumstances were, to which they couldn't reply." A spokesman for the NHS trust said the family described their very painful experience of not being able to see Joe's body for 10 days after his said the meeting was an opportunity to look at the law and to understand how to better work with the said: "We could not enable access to Joe's body until directed by the coroner after the post-mortem had taken place and the inquest opened."Communication with Joe's family between our trust and the coroner's office was not clear enough and we are very sorry for this, and the distress it caused his family." Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
03-03-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Burnham-on-Sea minor injuries unit to move on trial basis
A minor injuries unit is being relocated to a medical centre on a trial basis in an effort to improve its resilience and reduce unplanned closures. As first reported by the town's community hospital will be moved to nearby Burnham Medical Centre over the coming weeks. The unit in Love Lane has "experienced a number of short-term, short notice closures" recently due to staff shortages, health bosses have Heron, chief operating officer at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, said maintaining the minor injury unit is "vital". He said the unit helps give patients the right support, frees up emergency departments and allows staff to prioritise people with the most serious health conditions."We're very committed to the teams and services that run the minor injuries unit in Burnham-on-Sea and we know how important these are for local communities," Mr Heron said. "We are working with our primary and secondary care teams to consider different ways to deliver a more integrated and resilient same-day urgent care service for local people."The service will be open seven days a week from 10:00 to 18:00 GMT for Heron added: "Over the coming weeks, our teams will continue to work through the detail of this proposal, and we will update our teams, local people and partners".
BBC News
26-02-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Somerset eating disorder survivor giving others 'hope'
A woman who battled anorexia for more than a decade is now using her experience to support others struggling with eating disorders "to try and give people some hope".Lisa Blatchfield, 27, developed the illness at 14 and fought it for 12 years until she was 26. Now, as an Eating Disorder Peer Support Worker at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, she helps others on their recovery journey."At first, I would throw away my lunch at school without thinking much about it," she said. "But over time, the disorder took over my life." Lisa shared her story as part of Eating Disorders Awareness Week, to highlight how these conditions can develop slowly and unnoticed. For years, she denied she had a problem, even when teachers noticed the signs."Eating disorders are very insidious. They creep up on you, and before you know it, your whole life is consumed by it," Lisa explained."I brushed it off, saying everything was fine. But eventually, I could not ignore it any more."After years of struggling, she accepted support and began her recovery. 'A lot of shame' Now, Lisa helps others on their road to recovery from eating disorders through meal support, body image groups, and open conversations."I share my experience to try and give people some hope and try and bring as much awareness to eating disorders as possible," she said. Nerissa Shaw, clinical lead for eating disorder support in the south and west of England, said the need for awareness around eating disorders had never been greater, with a 400% rise in people seeking help since the pandemic."Eating disorders can be isolating, and people feel a lot of shame when they have one," she said. "That's one of the reasons it's so difficult to ask for help or come forward. But there is support available - it is crucial to reach out before it's too late."With Eating Disorders Awareness Week shining a light on these complex conditions, Lisa hopes that by sharing her experience, more people will feel able to seek support."We need to break the silence," she said. "Eating disorders affect everyone, and the more we talk about it, the more people will seek help."
BBC News
24-02-2025
- Health
- BBC News
New hope for patients with 'debilitating' eye condition in Somerset
Patients in Somerset with a "debilitating" condition that causes blurred vision can now access treatment that prevents progression of the condition. Keratoconus, which causes the cornea to thin, normally develops during teenage years or early adulthood and tends to gradually worsen over time. A new procedure has been introduced at Taunton's Musgrove Park Hospital in Somerset to treat patients – called corneal Slade, 48, from Taunton, has had the procedure in his left eye and said it had made his vision "so much better". Warning: This article contains a graphic image below of an eye procedure Keratoconus is a type of corneal ectasia, where the round clear window of a patient's eye becomes progressively thin, causing it to become cone shaped and irregular. The speed and severity of change in vision is most common in people with connective tissue diseases, allergic eye disease, conditions such as Down's Syndrome, and children with learning difficulties or Slade said he was relieved to have his left eye operated on December. The 48-year-old has learning disabilities and was anxious about having to travel to London for the was on the verge of losing his driving license because of blurred vision but is now able to carry on living and normal life as his condition has been Slade said: "It was quite a big impact on driving for me before but having the operation has made it so much better and that amazing surgery was very very quick, and no pain at all." The cross-linking procedure helps fix it by removing the surface layer of the cornea (the epithelium) and then placing riboflavin drops onto the eye which are excited by using UV light and then form free free radicals lead to covalent bonds forming within the cornea making it is the only treatment available that stops keratoconus from getting worse, and has a 95% success rate, with only 5% of patients going on to need further treatment, according to NHS with keratoconus will no longer need a lifetime supply of contact lenses, which tended to cost the NHS £600 per patient, per year, over their lifetime. Ruta Balakit, from Bridgwater has also recently had the procedure after discovering she had a problem with her vison a year 38-year-old said: "My eyes were quite itchy mostly in the evenings. "Even sometimes it would wake me up. I started to think what's wrong?"After a check up at Specsavers, Ms Balakit was referred to hospital. "I am happy its hear I don't need to go far away for treatment - that is really good," she said. Somerset NHS Foundation Trust is the only trust in the South West area to offer the procedure. Mr Indy Sian, consultant ophthalmologist at Musgrove Park Hospital, said: "Historically, our patients have needed to be seen at a specialist clinic in London to have this treatment, which was understandably very difficult for young families, or those individuals with additional needs."Patients with a learning disability or Down's Syndrome may struggle to understand the whole process, so being able to have their treatment in a more familiar setting will be to their advantage. "It will also make subsequent follow-up care much easier."He added the condition can have a "debilitating effect" on peoples lives, as it can impact schooling, lead to other injuries through falls and can lead to needing a corneal transplant. "Being able to offer this cross-linking procedure here in Somerset means we have an effective way of stabilising a patient's sight, so it does not get any worse over the years, and it can even improve the sight in some cases," Mr Sian added.
