Sickness and bullying closes maternity unit, MP says

An MP has claimed high staff sickness rates at a maternity unit which has been temporarily closed were driven in part by bullying.

Yeovil District Hospital in Somerset announced its maternity unit would be closed for at least six months in May, attributing the closure to "high levels of sickness" among senior paediatricians.

On Tuesday, Yeovil MP Adam Dance told the House of Commons staff absences were "partly caused by a lack of support, and toxic work culture, and bullying from management".

The Somerset NHS Foundation Trust said it would "continue" to speak with MPs about their concerns.

Mr Dance told the BBC he is "really concerned" the unit will not reopen.

During the debate on Tuesday, minister for secondary care Karin Smith said local leaders had assured her it is "not intended to be permanent".

Bridgwater MP Sir Ashley Fox said "mothers across Somerset will suffer" while the unit is shut.

Speaking after the debate, Mr Dance said he had been told finance issues were not the reason for the closure, but added: "If it's not down to money, why aren't they looking at getting locums [temporary staff] in?"

He also questioned how the NHS trust would recruit staff for a service which is "shutting down".

"I haven't seen any jobs advertised online, maybe I'm not looking in the right place but they should be accessible and easy to see," he told the BBC.

Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton, which will care for many of the women who would have given birth in Yeovil, was declared "inadequate" in a report by health watchdog Care Quality Commission last year.

Patients have previously described the hospital's maternity service as "traumatic, super hot and overcrowded".

Mr Dance told the BBC he had seen an increase in women planning to have home births as they would not feel safe at Musgrove.

"If something goes wrong - where are they going to go? Because having to get in a car to go 45 minutes to Taunton might be too long," he said.

A spokesperson for the NHS Trust thanked Mr Dance for securing the debate, adding: "We had a discussion with MPs this morning to talk through and respond to their concerns and questions, and we will continue to do this."

They also said everyone had been "given the opportunity to speak to their midwife about their choices for place of birth", and urged expectant parents to speak to the Trust, Somerset Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership about their concerns.

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