Lib Dems call for a critical incident to be declared after unsafe maternity unit in Somerset forced to closed

EMBARGO: Immediate Release

Maternity services in Yeovil are to close for at least six months after a warning from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), a situation that has prompted local Liberal Democrat MP Adam Dance to call for a critical incident to be declared warning that it will leave families in “turmoil”.

The Somerset NHS foundation trust has announced that it will be closing the Yeovil Maternity Unit for six months, including the Special Care Baby Unit. The unit serves more than 1,200 births a year.

These women will instead be sent to Taunton, a maternity unit over 25 miles away and already over capacity in Musgrove Park Hospital, one of the hospitals facing delays following the Government pushing back many projects in the New Hospitals Programme.

The step was taken after the CQC served a warning that maternity services were “failing to meet the regulations related to staffing and governance systems”. Yeovil MP Adam Dance asked a question about the closure at Prime Minister’s Questions today in which Keir Starmer committed to securing a meeting for the local MP with a relevant minister to discuss the issue.

Adam Dance has also been contacted by worried constituents about longstanding issues with maternity services from poor management to unsafe working conditions. He has written to the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust to seek assurances that the service will reopen after six months. The local MP is now calling for a critical incident to be declared at the hospital.

Liberal Democrat MP for Yeovil Adam Dance said:

“The closure of this unit at such short notice could have devastating consequences for expectant parents and vulnerable babies. They will be forced to use already stretched services tens of miles away and I, like many of my constituents who have already been in contact, are deeply fearful this could leave families in turmoil.

“We need to see some real leadership through this crisis and the relevant authorities stepping up to ensure that no one suffers unnecessarily as a result of this shambolic situation. That means a critical incident being declared immediately so we can get patients and their loved ones the support they need to deal with this.

“I will continue to push for a full explanation from Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and NHS Somerset, and I won’t stop demanding a clear plan to restore safe, local maternity care in Yeovil. Our community cannot afford to lose this service for good.”

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

Reporting can be found here.

Adam’s PMQ can be watched here.

Adam’s full statement can be found here.

A critical incident is any localised incident where the level of disruption results in the organisation temporarily or permanently losing its ability to deliver critical services, patients may have been harmed or the environment is not safe requiring special measures and support from other agencies, to restore normal operating functions. Explanation here.