news.today
Hello · Register today | LoginHello · My Account[—] [33]
UK

Somerset maternity unit roof so leaky staff get weather forecasts

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 31 Oct, 06:19 · Archive

Staff at Musgrove Park Hospital's maternity unit in Taunton receive weather forecasts during shifts because the roof leaks so regularly.

Doctors and nurses at Musgrove Park Hospital's maternity unit in Taunton are provided with a weather forecast during their daily handover because the roof leaks so regularly. The hospital's chief operating officer disclosed this arrangement to the council's adults, health and housing scrutiny committee on 8 October.

Much of the hospital estate dates back to the Second World War. Old buildings make it difficult for patients to attend appointments and for staff to work safely and productively. The Care Quality Commission inspected the maternity unit and related services in February, giving it a rating of 'required improvement'.

A separate review by Baroness Valerie Amos found the maternity unit was 'not designed to deliver 21st-century care'. She concluded that the service being provided to patients was 'inconsistent, poorly coordinated, slow to respond and too often dismissive of their concerns'. The review branded it 'the worst maternity estate in England'.

Taunton and Wellington MP Gideon Amos and senior NHS figures in Somerset have been repeatedly lobbying the Department for Health and Social Care to bring forward improvements to the hospital, including a brand new maternity unit.

Leanne Ashmead, director of children, young people and families at the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the acute hospitals in Taunton and Yeovil, addressed the issue when speaking to the scrutiny committee. She described the trust's improvement journey as creating 'a sense of a Somerset-wide services – that people aren't working in silos, and are working across both the Taunton and Yeovil sites'.

Somerset maternity unit roof so leaky staff get weather forecasts
Image: SomersetLive

Comments (0)

How it is being reported

In this story: Musgrove Park Hospital · Taunton · Baroness Valerie Amos · Gideon Amos · Somerset NHS Foundation Trust · Care Quality Commission · Department for Health and Social Care

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log