Services preparing to welcome mothers, babies and families back to Yeovil District Hospital from midday on 21 April

Colleagues are making final preparations to reopen inpatient maternity services and the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) at Yeovil District Hospital (YDH) at midday on Tuesday 21 April.

Professor Deirdre Fowler, our chief nurse and midwife, says: “We are very excited to welcome mothers, babies and families back to YDH in just two weeks’ time. Our maternity and paediatric colleagues are working hard to complete our final preparations and welcome you back to Yeovil.

“I want to thank everyone who is pulling out the stops to reopen our services and to Dorset County Hospital and Musgrove Park Hospital who have cared for mothers, babies and families while services in Yeovil have been temporarily closed.

“Most of all I want to thank local families whose care has been transferred to Dorset County Hospital and Musgrove Park Hospital while services at YDH have been temporarily closed. Thank you for your patience and understanding.”

We made the very difficult decision to temporarily close inpatient maternity services and the SCBU at YDH from 19 May 2025 due to concerns about the safety, quality and fragility of the paediatric service at YDH.

We've addressed these concerns by:

• Creating a Somerset-wide paediatric service to provide equitable services across the county with services provided at both YDH and Musgrove Park Hospital
• Recruiting five new paediatric consultants and ensuring senior experienced paediatricians are present at times of peak demand, including out of hours in the evenings and at weekends
• Recruiting neonatal nurses, a medical neonatal lead, midwives and leaders within the maternity service
• Creating a cross site clinical and managerial leadership structure to support the paediatric service to embed improvements and continuously improve in the future
• Providing simulation and rotational training to support colleagues to maintain their skills
• Strengthening governance processes; and
• Developing a framework for ongoing safety monitoring.

We have also made improvements to the maternity unit by installing new fire doors, improving security, redecorating the unit and reconfiguring some of the space.

Dr Melanie Iles, our chief medical officer, says: “We announced in October last year that we would reopen services on 21 April if essential safety criteria were in place. They are in place and we are therefore confident that we have the framework and processes in place to deliver a safe service.”

We have planned the reopening of services with the independent Somerset Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership to ensure that service users’ input is central to the plans. Midwives and obstetricians are having one-to-one conversations with service users about their choice of birthplace to ensure they have the information they need to make an informed choice about where to give birth after services have reopened at YDH.

Sally Bryant, our director of midwifery, says: “We are here to support service users, to listen to you, answer your questions, and address any concerns you may have. If you are currently pregnant or have any questions or concerns, please reach out to your community midwife. Our trust’s Patient Advice and Liaison Service and the independent Somerset Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership are also there to support you. We look forward to welcoming you back to our services at YDH.”

If you’re due to have your baby on or after 21 April 2026, you may be thinking about your options for place of birth and need information to make choices. Visit our website for more information and to read our updated frequently asked questions: Temporary closure of Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) and important changes to inpatient maternity services at Yeovil Hospital - Maternity

Background information

 In January, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected the paediatric service at YDH and Musgrove Park Hospital (MPH).

• Shortly after that inspection, the CQC issued a warning notice in relation to the paediatric service at YDH because:
• There were not suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced persons deployed during the busiest period of the service, out of hours and weekends to meet the requirements of the paediatric service at YDH.
• There was not a strong learning culture.
• Governance systems of the paediatric service at YDH were not operating effectively to ensure risk and performance issues were addressed with timely action.
• The CQC required us to make urgent improvements by 19 May, but we were unable to meet that deadline
• On 19 May 2025 we temporarily closed the SCBU and inpatient maternity services at YDH because of concerns about the safety, quality and fragility of the paediatric service at YDH.
• The temporary closures are as a result of concerns about the paediatric service at YDH and are not related to concerns about maternity services.
• In June 2025, the CQC published its reports into paediatric services at YDH and MPH. It rated the paediatric service at YDH as inadequate overall.
• In October 2025 we announced that, subject to meeting essential safety criteria, we will reopen the Special Care Baby Unit and inpatient maternity services at YDH on Tuesday 21 April.