'Leaky maternity unit needs to be replaced sooner'

A petition is calling on the government to fast-track the building of a new maternity and children's unit at Musgrove Park Hospital.

It comes after a report on UK maternity services named the Taunton estate the "most challenging" in the country, with leaking roofs and an antenatal ward propped up by metal poles.

The Somerset hospital was promised a new maternity unit under the Conservatives' New Hospital Programme, which Labour later postponed by a decade, claiming it was "unfunded and undeliverable".

A government spokesperson said: "The Musgrove Park project is on a realistic and deliverable footing. We will continue to work with the trust so it is delivered as quickly as possible."

Gideon Amos, the Lib Dem MP for Taunton and Wellington, launched the petition calling for the maternity ward to be replaced sooner.

He has also asked for an urgent meeting with the new health secretary Yvette Cooper so she can witness the problems herself.

Amos said the hospital's buildings, built during the Second World War, were only meant to be a temporary measure, but had never been replaced.

He said: "The recent publication of the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation laid bare the poor conditions including leaking roofs and inadequate temperature control."

A number of parents have also told the BBC the maternity unit "desperately" needs to be rebuilt.

Amos said: "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."

The MP said Cooper's predecessor Wes Streeting had promised to meet him to discuss the issue before his resignation.

He said he hoped the new health secretary would fulfil that commitment

In a statement, the Department of Health and Social Care said: "We inherited a broken NHS with the hospital estate left to crumble, and maternity and neonatal services in need of major reform.

"Every family deserves the best start in life, and thanks to this government, the Musgrove Park project is on a realistic and deliverable footing.

"We will continue to work with the trust so it is delivered as quickly as possible."

The government says it has committed £187m to improve maternity and neonatal facilities across the country.

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust declined to comment on the petition.

In January, a spokesperson said: "We were disappointed to learn that the investment agreed for Musgrove Park Hospital through the New Hospitals Programme was delayed and construction will now not commence until 2033."

The trust is continuing to work with the government to seek investment and said it has an ongoing maintenance programme for older buildings.

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