LOCAL MP Gideon Amos is stepping up his campaign for interim funding to support the maternity and paediatric unit in Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced in January that a new unit for the hospital would not even be started until 2030 to 2035.

This week’s sudden closure of Yeovil’s maternity and special care baby units has now left Musgrove as the closest available option for residents in South Somerset.

Mr Amos said he was ‘very concerned’ about the closure and was working with colleagues to push for the units to be reopened.

He said: “Musgrove Park is under a huge amount of pressure and maternity services in particular are at breaking point.

“We need the investment that has been promised for 2033 now, even more urgently since the Yeovil announcement, and I have already spoken to the Health Minister.”

Mr Amos said concerns about the NHS were the reason he was holding a public meeting in Taunton later this month.

He said: “It is really important we get people’s views to help get the NHS improvements we all need and deserve.”

The public meeting takes place on Friday, May 30, in the Creative Innovation Centre (CIC) in Paul Street, Taunton.

Mr Amos will talk through his initial findings from a recent public survey on NHS dentistry, and provide an update on efforts to secure a much-needed new maternity and paediatric unit for Musgrove.

He will be joined by Jonathan Mynors-Wallis, of the British Dental Association, and GP Dr Lucy Pendered.

Anybody who wants to attend the meeting can register their interest online.