Maternity and neonatal services reopen at Yeovil Hospital

At midday today, we reopened inpatient maternity services and the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) at Yeovil District Hospital, so women, birthing people, babies and families can once again receive care closer to home.

This reopening marks an important moment for local families and for our colleagues. We temporarily closed services while we put essential safety improvements in place and today reflects the work and commitment that has gone into reaching this point.

Over the past year, our colleagues and teams have worked incredibly hard through a very challenging time to strengthen services and meet essential safety criteria. We have improved staffing, leadership, training and governance; recruited additional senior paediatric consultants; increased senior cover during evenings and weekends; strengthened maternity and neonatal teams; and put clearer safety monitoring and escalation arrangements in place.

Sally Bryant, our director of midwifery, says: “Our teams have done a huge amount of work to put these improvements in place, and we’re really pleased to be welcoming women, birthing people and families back to Yeovil.

“I want to thank our healthcare partners for supporting us while services were temporarily closed, and to thank our local communities, service users and families for their patience, understanding and support.

“We are especially grateful to the Somerset Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership, who have worked closely alongside us throughout to ensure women’s and families’ experiences continue to shape our services as we reopen. We remain committed to listening, learning from experiences and continuing to improve.”

You can read our full reopening message here: Services preparing to welcome mothers, babies and families back to Yeovil District Hospital from midday on 21 April

More information and advice

If you are currently pregnant or have any questions or concerns, please speak with your community midwife. Our maternity teams, the trust’s Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) and the independent Somerset Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership are also here to support you.

If you have questions about your care or where you will give birth, you can:

• Speak with your midwife or maternity team
• Talk to staff in antenatal clinics
• Speak to members of the team involved in your care
• Visit our trust website for the latest updates

If someone is not able to answer your question directly, they will help put you in touch with the right colleague.

Somerset maternity advice line and emergency triage

Call: 01823 343985

This line is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you become unwell or have any concerns about your health, including your baby’s movements, please call for advice.

More information is available on our maternity services pages, and you can also read our Frequently Asked Questions.