SOMSERSET NHS Foundation Trust has announced its plans to reopen the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) and the inpatient maternity service at Yeovil District Hospital.
According to a spokesperson for Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, it is "is making good progress with the recruitment of additional consultant paediatricians" and is planning to share a timeline and date for reopening, subject to meeting agreed safety criteria in October.
The trust temporarily closed the SCBU and inpatient maternity service at Yeovil District Hospital on May 19 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.
READ MORE: Yeovil Hospital's maternity unit to close due to safety concerns
READ MORE: Yeovil District Hospital services rated 'inadequate'
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 per cent 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 Yeovil District Hospital while it is temporarily closed.
Essential repairs have been undertaken to install new fire doors and improved security, along with improvements having been made 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.”
Jonathan Higman, NHS Somerset Chief Executive, said: “We recognise that the temporary closure of the maternity unit and special care baby unit at Yeovil District Hospital remains deeply concerning for local people and staff alike. As the commissioner of the services, we asked Somerset NHS Foundation Trust to provide us with a detailed update about their progress to reopen those services at a three-month review meeting. I am very pleased to confirm that the trust has told us that they are committed to fully reopening the services and providing safe, high quality and sustainable care for those who need them. They recognise the disruption caused by this change and we apologise to anyone who has been affected.
“As the commissioner of these services for the local population, NHS Somerset has been working closely with the Trust to assure ourselves as to their ability to safely provide the maternity service in Yeovil following the CQC inspection in January and we continue to support and oversee the improvements in paediatrics required to reopen the service in a safe and sustainable way. This includes actively trying to recruit to key clinical roles in the hospital and making the necessary improvements outlined in their recent CQC inspection.
“While it is not possible at this stage to provide a definitive date that the service will reopen, we have formally asked the trust to provide another update in November, three-months on from this review, to include a date for reopening. We have asked the trust to work with staff and stakeholders to make sure the services are ready to reopen as soon as possible.
“Since the announcement we have been closely monitoring public and patient concerns and raising those with teams in Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, which has been supporting women and birthing people to get the support and advice they need. We are also working with neighbouring trusts, including Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and thank them for continuing to provide care to service users from Somerset while the temporary closure is in place.
“As we have said before, we are committed to a fully functioning district general hospital in Yeovil. We hope local people are reassured by the good progress made towards reopening the maternity unit and I look forward to confirming the date when births will return to Yeovil Hospital soon.”
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