Maternity and SCBU

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust is making good progress with the recruitment of additional consultant paediatricians and is planning to fully reopen the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) and the inpatient maternity service at Yeovil District Hospital.

In October, the trust plans to share a timeline and a date for reopening, subject to meeting agreed safety criteria.

The trust temporarily closed the SCBU and inpatient maternity service at YDH on 19 May due to concerns about the safety, quality and fragility of the paediatric service at the hospital. In June, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) published reports into the paediatric services at YDH and Musgrove Park Hospital (MPH) and rated the paediatric service at YDH as inadequate overall.

Peter Lewis, chief executive of Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We temporarily closed these services because of concerns about the paediatric service at YDH. They are not related to concerns about maternity services. Since the CQC inspected our maternity services in November 2023, we have made significant improvements and completed and embedded 94% of the actions in our improvement plan. It’s important to say that we understand what an important role maternity services play in a family’s life, and we are committed to continuing to improve our services.

“It is essential that we address concerns about the paediatric service at YDH so that we can fully reopen the inpatient maternity service and SCBU. We are doing that by developing a Somerset-wide paediatric service with services provided at YDH and MPH – and we are making good progress.

“In October, we will provide a date for reopening services. By then we will have done a bit more work to develop a county-wide paediatric service, to work through the complex process and steps to safely reopen the inpatient maternity service, and will have completed our recruitment to consultant paediatric roles. We are working with NHS Somerset to agree safety criteria, the detailed steps and date for reopening.”

In the three months, the trust has taken the following steps to develop a Somerset paediatric service. It:

• Has appointed a clinical director for the county-wide paediatric service.
• Has agreed with the South West Deanery that, from this month, paediatric resident doctors in training will work across both YDH and MPH.
• Is interviewing a strong field of candidates for consultant paediatrician roles to work across both acute hospitals and play a leading role in the design and implementation of the Somerset-wide service.
• Has redesigned the paediatric consultant rota in line with national standards to ensure there are sufficient senior, skilled and experienced paediatricians working during the paediatric service’s busiest periods, out of hours and weekends so that it can be implemented when new consultants start.
• Is scoping the development of a Paediatric Assessment Unit at YDH to ensure timely assessment and treatment of the most unwell children and young people.
• Is addressing other areas of concern highlighted by the CQC including governance systems, education and learning, and culture.

The trust is also taking the opportunity to make improvements to the maternity unit at YDH while it is temporarily closed. Essential repairs have been undertaken to install new fire doors and improved security. Improvements to the maternity theatre to develop a dedicated obstetric recovery area are being planned.

Peter Lewis said: “This is a period of significant upheaval for service users and for colleagues. We know just how important these services are and we are working quickly and thoroughly to provide an equitable, safe and quality paediatric service that will enable us to reopen the inpatient maternity unit and SCBU at YDH.”

“Our work continues, but I want to acknowledge and thank service users and families for their understanding. I thank our colleagues for the support they are providing to families and the work they’re doing to make the improvements that will enable us to reopen services. I thank our partners, particularly those at Dorset County Hospital, and the independent Somerset Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership who are working with us and ensuring the voices of families are heard.”