Plans to reopen maternity services at Yeovil District Hospital
The maternity services at Yeovil Hospital were temporarily closed on 19 May because of concerns about safety
Somerset NHS Foundation Trust is planning to reopen the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) and inpatient maternity service at Yeovil District Hospital (YDH) on 21 April 2026.
Peter Lewis, the trust’s chief executive, said: “I am very pleased to provide a date when we will reopen the SCBU and inpatient maternity service at YDH. I hope this provides certainty for our colleagues who work in those services, for service users and the communities that rely on those services. We have done a huge amount of work to address concerns about the safety, quality and fragility of the paediatric service at YDH, which led to these temporary closures, and have more work to do.
"The plan to reopen services is complex as we work through the process to launch the new Somerset-wide paediatric service at YDH and reopen the SCBU and inpatient maternity service at YDH.”
He explained that this involves working with new paediatric consultants, who will join the trust between November 2025 and March 2026, and with maternity colleagues currently supporting services at Musgrove Park Hospital and Dorset County Hospital, without destabilising those services.
Mr Lewis continued: “We have set out the essential criteria that must be in place to reopen services, and improvement criteria which will continue to be delivered and embedded following reopening. Now detailed planning will take place within our trust, with Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and other partner organisations, and with Somerset Maternity and Neonatal Voice Partnership, to put those safety criteria in place so that we can safely reopen the SCBU and maternity service at YDH.
"As the date for reopening gets closer, the support and information we provide to pregnant women and those planning a family will become more important. At present, they should continue to access maternity services as usual. 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.”
The SCBU and inpatient maternity services at Yeovil District Hospital were temporarily closed on 19 May 2025 for an initial six-month period because of concerns about the safety, quality and fragility of the paediatric service at YDH. Consultant paediatricians from Musgrove Park Hospital (MPH) stepped in to support both acute hospitals, which enabled inpatient and outpatient paediatric services to continue. However, the trust was unable to keep the SCBU open, and as a consequence, inpatient maternity services at YDH were also temporarily closed.
At the end of June, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) published reports into paediatric services at both Musgrove Park Hospital and Yeovil District Hospital following inspections in January. The CQC rated the paediatric service at YDH as inadequate overall and the paediatric service at MPH as good overall. The trust has since prioritised providing an equitable service for babies, children and young people across Somerset, recruiting to key roles, and ensuring its paediatric services have strong governance and a positive learning culture.
The trust committed to reviewing the temporary closures after three and six months as part of a contractual process with NHS Somerset, its commissioner. A statement following the three-month review, released on 12 September, confirmed the trust’s commitment to reopening services.
Since the start of the temporary closures on 19 May and up to the week ending Sunday 5 October, 354 babies have been born who would otherwise have been delivered at Yeovil District Hospital. Of those, 135 were born at Musgrove Park Hospital, 174 at Dorset County Hospital, 13 at the Royal United Hospital in Bath, nine in other hospitals, and 23 at home.
The trust continues to work closely with Dorset County Hospital and the Somerset Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership to support families and respond to their concerns.