Petition launches to 'save' care services at Yeovil District Hospital after merger
A campaign group have seen more than 4,500 signatures against proposed changes following the merger of Somerset and Yeovil District Hospital Foundation Trusts
Last updated 15th Jun 2024
NHS Somerset say they 'still welcome' engagement with communities after a petition to save Yeovil's acute stroke care services reaches more than 4 and a half thousand signatures.
The campaign group claim the proposed closure 'is likely' to have consequences to the recovery of patients if they're taken to Taunton instead.
It comes after the merger of two Trusts last month, with Yeovil District Hospital and Somerset NHS Foundation Trusts who came together to help with the coordination of services across the county.
Despite the merger, the NHS in Somerset says the consultation would have happened anyway to make sure quality standards are met.
Over the course of 12 weeks, locals were asked about their thoughts on where acute and hyper-acute stroke services should be provided, with the proposals looking into:
- One hyper-acute stroke unit in Somerset - with the location to be determined
- And acute stroke services at either two units at Musgrove Park or one acute unit at the same hospital as the proposed hyper-acute unit proposed to be hosted at Musgrove Park
Following the announcement of the consultation, a wave of responses has come forward - with one campaign group saying the changing to the current setup of stroke services as being potentially 'detrimental' to the health of patients around the county.
A statement on their Change.Org petition writes: " If patients have to receive their continuing care at Musgrove from the Acute Stroke facility this will require (roundtrip) travel of almost 2 hours, for those with access to a car, or considerably longer if dependent on public transport and will significantly reduce the ability of family and loved ones to visit the patient.
"This is not an adequate service for the 180,000 residents who are dependent on YDH. Yeovil is an expanding town with considerable plans for further residential development and the reduction in the local health provision makes no sense.
"We insist that Somerset NHS Foundation Trust reconsider and abort this planned removal of services and focus on continuing to maintain and improve Hyper-Acute and Acute Stroke care at both Musgrove Hospital and Yeovil District Hospital to ensure that adequate care is provided across Somerset, not just the Taunton area."
NHS Somerset claim these proposals would have been put forward anyway to help with the provision of services across the county - whether or not the merger had happened back on April 1st.
Dr Bernie Marden, from NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board said: "We have reached out to the group and invited them to meet with us to hear more about the proposals. Our 12 week public consultation came to an end on 24 April 2023, but we still welcome engagement with the community group.
"We want every stroke patient in Somerset to have the best and most appropriate care possible. We know that our acute hospital-based stroke services are not currently set up in the best way and that there are differences in the way these services are delivered.
"It is important that we provide high-quality stroke services in Somerset, which are sustainable and fit for the future, which is why we are proposing to change the way acute hospital stroke services are organised in our area, so that everyone in county will have the best opportunity to survive and thrive after stroke."
No final decisions on the proposals have yet been made on the changes, but Dr Bernie Marden did add that hearing the views of local people during their consultation is an 'important part' of how decisions are made.
Dr Marden added: "We will remain open-minded about the solution until after all the feedback, evidence and information has been analysed and considered."
All the feedback gathered during the 12 week consultation will now be analysed by an external research organisation who will then prepare a report for the NHS Somerset Board.
The Board will consider the feedback, along with a wide range of other information and evidence, such as workforce data and financial data. The Board will use all the feedback, evidence and information to decide how to proceed.
An overview of all the options considered before the Trust went out to public consultation on the proposed options can be found on pages 14 – 19 of the consultation document.