A NATIONAL investigation into NHS maternity services has highlighted concerns around care provided at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton.

The investigation conducted by Baroness Valerie Amos examined maternity and neonatal services in 12 NHS Trusts including Musgrove Park Hospital run by Somerset NHS Foundation Trust.

It has strongly criticised the NHS maternity system and made eight recommendations nationally.

The individual report on Somerset NHS Foundation Trust said the service provided to families was "inconsistent, poorly coordinated, slow to respond and too often dismissive of their concerns.”

The report added: “Most of the families who spoke to us had experienced harm and many had experienced bereavement.” Patients were also found to have been treated differently based on their race and ethnicity.

The Trust’s maternity services at Musgrove Hospital were rated as ‘Inadequate’ after a CQC visit in November 2023. The Trust is part of the NHS England’s Maternity Neonatal Intensive Support Team; a programme that provides extra support to Trusts that need it.

Dr Melanie Iles, chief medical officer for Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, said: “It is very difficult to read the experiences of women, families and birthing partners, and of colleagues working in our maternity and neonatal services. We say sorry to anyone who has had a traumatic experience, been let down, not been listened to, or been harmed by our services.

“Our teams have done a huge amount of work to improve maternity and neonatal services and to provide safe, compassionate care to the women, babies, children and families we care for – but we have more work to do.

“Our local report highlights the impact of the old, outdated and cramped maternity unit at Musgrove Park Hospital on mothers, babies, families and maternity colleagues. We have made as many improvements as possible to this building, but it is not fit for use in a modern NHS and needs to be replaced urgently.

“New women’s and children’s facilities are part of our New Hospitals Programme, but the start of construction has been delayed by the national programme until 2033. We are exploring other possibilities, but the state of our mothers and children’s facilities at Musgrove Park Hospital needs to be urgently addressed.”

MP for Taunton and Wellington, Gideon Amos, is calling on the government to implement all eight recommendations from the national report without delay including safe staffing, one-to-one midwifery and 24/7 consultant presence, training, and repairing and replacing failing maternity units.

He said: “The experience some patients have had is unacceptable - it requires immediate attention, and I will continue holding the trust to account on the improvements needed in maternity services.

“However trying to improve services in buildings which are patently not fit for purpose is seriously holding back progress towards giving mums and babies the support they need.

"Waiting until 2033 for a new unit is far too late. The Health Secretary needs to visit and see for himself why this project urgently needs to be brought forward."

The local report is available online.