Yeovil Hospital’s new breast cancer unit opens to patients Monday

The Maple Unit will open on October 7 after a five-year-long fundraising campaign, run by Somerset NHS Foundation Trust’s official charity.

An incredible £2.9 million was raised to build the unit — with thousands of locals, former patients, and colleagues at the hospital participating in hundreds of events to raise money for the unit.

Reception at The Maple Unit, Yeovil Hospital. (Image: NQ)

The Maple Unit, accessible through main reception or via a separate footpath, at Yeovil Hospital. (Image: NQ)

The Maple Unit has been designed with lots of art and natural light, a dedicated area for difficult conversations, and a comfortable waiting area, away from other busy outpatient areas and treatment rooms.

Miss Caroline Osborne, a consultant breast surgeon at Yeovil Hospital, said she’s thrilled that the Maple Unit is finally opening following a long fundraising campaign.

She said: "This is absolutely amazing news and I’m over the moon that it’s finally opening. It has been such a long time in the making, from when we first came up with the idea ten years ago, and the incredible fundraising campaign that followed, to seeing the unit getting built before our very eyes.

The waiting room at The Maple Unit. (Image: NQ) An ultrasound room at The Maple Unit. (Image: NQ)

"I know that this is going to be fantastic for our excellent breast care team, we can already see the benefits it’ll have for our patients, and it’s something that will last for generations to come too.

"Within the Maple Unit itself, we have state-of-the-art equipment, including a brand new mammogram machine, which has additional features to our previous models.

"The real beauty of our new unit is that it’s co-located with our clinical, nursing, radiology, and admin teams, something that’s never been possible before. This makes it so much easier for us to communicate with each other, which will undoubtedly improve the experience of our patients.

A counselling room at The Maple Unit. (Image: NQ) State-of-the-art mammogram room at The Maple Unit. (Image: NQ)

"We’re really conscious that we wanted to improve the overall experience of our patients during what’s a very difficult time for them.

"To achieve this, we’ve made the overall process of being assessed and seen much easier, as well as follow-up appointments for things like the fitting of prosthesis, counselling, or other support through their cancer diagnosis now available in a beautiful and calming environment.

"There’s a lot more privacy too, and we have a discreet exit from the building that can be used if someone is really upset, meaning they no longer need to walk through the waiting room in front of others.

James Kirton, head of the charity, and Karina Parsons, a volunteer fundraiser. (Image: NQ)

"Another new feature that we’ve worked to bring into the unit is a really nice wellbeing space, where patients can take that time out, particularly if they’re feeling emotional after good or bad news."

Miss Osborne added that the unit has also been given the thumbs-up by hospital colleagues, with clinic rooms much more readily available.

"Our breast care colleagues have previously struggled at times to find clinic rooms across the hospital to see patients, as we’ve never had our own space until now. Instead, they’ve always had to share with other specialties.

"Now, if a patient rings up saying they need to see us, we can ask them to come straight to the unit, and we’ll be there to help them any time during regular office hours in the week.

"Some of the little things like being able to offer our patients that extra wellbeing support are really important, and we’ve just never been able to offer this full package of care without our own space.

"We’re also able to offer group sessions for the first time using our larger room, as well craft therapy, talking therapies, and menopause sessions, among others.

"In many ways this is great news for the whole of Somerset as we are increasingly working as one team across both Yeovil and Musgrove Park hospitals, helping each other out where we can."

Karina Parsons, 63, a former patient and volunteer fundraiser from Yeovil, said: "Six years ago, I had a routine mammogram in Morrisons car park in Yeovil, and I was recalled to Taunton for a follow-up mammogram and biopsy, despite having no outward signs or discomfort.

“A week later I went to Taunton for the results and was informed I had breast cancer. I then had to tell my husband in a general busy waiting area.

"My head was all over the place as our daughter was expecting her baby at any time, so I experienced firsthand the need for a dedicated local breast unit. It was because of this that I decided to join the fundraising team, as it feels like I’m giving something back.

"Before [the Maple Unit] we were seen in the women's unit, but men also get breast cancer, and it wasn't the place as it was meant to be a joyful place with families, young children, and then suddenly someone's being told that they have breast cancer.

"In the Maple Unit, they have counselling rooms, and it's all separate which makes so much difference."

James Kirton, head of Yeovil Hospital Charity, said: "The breast cancer unit appeal was launched by Yeovil Hospital Charity in March 2019 and has raised almost £2.9 million.

"It feels quite emotional to finally see the unit open, and I know that’s a feeling shared by so many of our fundraisers, many of whom are former patients.

"Our Breast Cancer Unit Appeal got off to an amazing start, as our hospital was fully behind it and it really caught the imagination of people from Yeovil and surrounding areas, which helped get it to every corner of the community.

"In many ways we pulled this off against the odds, as a year into the campaign we hit lockdown with many events needing to either stop or majorly adapt.

"This didn’t deter our amazing fundraisers though and we were delighted when we finally reached the target, which happened during a Yeovil Town football match, which was dubbed as the “Paint the Park Pink” match!

"It was awe-inspiring how people still found the time to do things like shaving their head, baking cakes and other things, and we’ll be forever grateful to them."

He added: "I've been fundraising for 25 years and this is by far the most touching and rewarding project I've been involved with. So many people are affected by breast cancer, it's almost one in seven women now, so a lot of people can understand it and relate to it, it was just obvious that [the unit] was needed."

Yeovil Hospital Charity is now part of the Somerset NHS Charity family, which supports all of the services delivered by Somerset NHS Foundation Trust.

Maggie Hague, who has received breast care from Yeovil Hospital and took part in the fundraising appeal, said: "The new breast cancer unit appeal has meant a lot to me, having been on the breast cancer journey myself at Yeovil hospital, and I wanted to give something back.

"The hospital is blessed with an excellent breast cancer team who work very hard under difficult circumstances, having had no place to call their own…now they are going to have a state-of-art Breast Cancer Unit.

"The team at the hospital, and the people of Somerset, need this so much as breast cancer affects not only the patients, but their families and lives as well."

Tania Bartlett, who has also received care and treatment from Yeovil Hospital’s breast care team, added: "I will always be incredibly grateful for the team at Yeovil Hospital who guided and supported me on my breast cancer journey.

"As a 40-year-old single mum with two small children, I genuinely would not be here today without them.

"The unit will make such an incredible difference and I wanted to help as a way of saying thanks, knowing this would make a diagnosis like breast cancer perhaps just a little bit easier; a safe, calm environment and surroundings and also a much better workspace for the wonderful team."

Suleiman Al-Sadi, an architectural assistant at Stride Treglown, said: “We’re incredibly proud to have helped deliver this much-needed facility for the trust and the Yeovil community. Our goal was to create a comfortable, welcoming space that supports patients both emotionally and physically through their challenging journeys.

“We’ve brought in natural elements—like plants, soft colours, and artwork inspired by Yeovil’s landscape—so the environment feels both familiar and supportive, helping patients and visitors feel more at ease during what can be a difficult time."

Paul Gale, Regional Director for South West at Tilbury Douglas, said: “We are very proud to have successfully completed this important scheme for patients in Yeovil and the surrounding area.

“Bringing all the relevant services together in one place and enabling patients to receive all their tests in one, purpose-built facility, making the experience less stressful and more comfortable.

“Our team delivered the project on a complex site and we would like to thank hospital staff, visitors and patients, along with other contractors working on site, for their patience during the project.”