Improvements to our maternity services

Earlier this year we were disappointed to learn that the investment agreed for Musgrove Park Hospital through the New Hospitals Programme was delayed and construction will now not commence until 2033. While we continue to work with the Department of Health and Social Care to seek investment to address the challenging conditions of our maternity buildings, to ensure they are fit for the future, we have an ongoing programme of maintenance for our maternity and children’s unit buildings to ensure we can continue to provide a good standard of care.

Improvements since November 2023 Care Quality Commission inspection of maternity services across Somerset

Since the Care Quality Commission rated the maternity services provided from Musgrove Park Hospital and Yeovil Hospitals as inadequate in November 2023, we have made a number of improvements at both units.

These include:

• A new county-wide evidence-based and standardised maternity triage service that ensures timely assessment and appropriate clinical management for service users
• A maternity clinical audit programme that’s in line with national standards
• A refresh of leadership systems, including improvements in training compliance, appraisals and reporting to the NHS trust board
• Strengthened guidelines and policies
• An upgrade in the security of the maternity estate, with improved CCTV and 24/7 on-site security presence
• An upgrade to the maternity estate at Musgrove Park Hospital, including an improved procedure room to support emergency procedures during labour.

Changes at Musgrove Park Hospital due to Yeovil Hospital maternity inpatient and Special Care Baby Unit closure

With the temporary closure of the SCBU and birthing service at Yeovil Hospital, we are expecting a number of women and birthing people to choose Musgrove Park Hospital as an alternative birthing location, where capacity has been significantly increased to accommodate additional demand on the service. An average of 100 service users per month (3-4 daily) give birth at Yeovil Hospital, and to minimise the impact of the temporary closure, these births will be transferred between Musgrove Park Hospital, Dorset County Hospital, Royal United Hospital, Bath and Salisbury Hospital to give women and birthing people a choice of location for birth.

Our teams across the trust have worked incredibly hard to make changes to our maternity and neonatal services at Musgrove Park Hospital to support us with extra space, including triage, an additional 10 maternity beds, and a dedicated Transitional Care area to support women and birthing people to stay with their babies if they require special care.

More information about the Yeovil Hospital temporary maternity and SCBU closure here.