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'Super hot' maternity ward installs air-con

BBC A single-storey red brick hospital maternity unit, with signs above doors saying "maternity main entrance" and "maternity drop off". Yellow lines of parking bays are on the tarmac in front of the building. BBC
Air cooling units will be fitted at each bed space at Musgrove Park Hospital's Fern ward in Taunton

Air-conditioning units are being installed at a maternity ward criticised by new mothers last year.

One woman described "super hot" conditions after she gave birth at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton during a heatwave. Another woman was wheeled naked into a reception after taking her clothes off because of the heat.

They spoke out after the hospital's maternity service was rated "inadequate" in May.

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust said it was committed to improving its maternity services and creating a "safer environment".

The AC installation, which is expected to take four weeks, will see units fitted to each bed space on Fern ward, which is used for postnatal care.

A spokesperson for the hospital said: "The ward will have air cooling units installed to help control the ward temperature, which has been known to be very hot during the summer months."

A metal structure attached to a red-brick building above a doorway is crumpled and gaping at one corner.
Parts of the maternity unit at the hospital are in disrepair

Speaking in September, Nicki Hale, from Taunton, said the heat at the hospital made her feel concerned for her baby during the first few hours after birth in 2022.

Ms Hale said: "Musgrove Park was super hot. There was no air-conditioning and it was a heatwave. We were advised to breastfeed in the reception area."

Hollie Hutchings, from Taunton, also gave birth in 2022 at the hospital. She said the wards were so hot that she ended up being wheeled through reception naked after she had taken all of her clothes off.

CQC's inspectors noted that the hospital's buildings were in "poor condition".

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust bosses said in September that a lot of work had been carried out to improve maternity services since the inspection.

Sally Bryant, head of midwifery at the trust, added that it was important to listen to feedback from families, and said: "[The wards] were never built for maternity services – they were built in World War Two and we have to make do with some very old buildings."

The trust said the AC units will be installed in a way that minimises disruption for patients, and advised anyone with concerns to speak to their midwife.

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