Somerset MP demands response on Yeovil stroke services

The NHS Somerset integrated care board (ICB) voted in late-January to approve plans to remove Yeovil Hospital’s hyper-acute stroke unit (HASU), meaning the most urgent stroke patients will be transported to either Dorchester or Taunton for treatment.

The decision has proved immensely unpopular with local residents, with newly-elected Yeovil MP Adam Dance indicated in April (while still a candidate) that he would ask for the decision to be called in and reviewed by the health secretary.

Mr Dance has now demanded a personal response from the health secretary over the future of these services, having written to him shortly after the general election.

Stroke services are categorised by the NHS into two camps – hyper-acute (where emergency treatment is required within the first 72 hours) and acute (where the stroke is less life-threatening).

Under the agreed reforms, Yeovil will retain its acute stroke provision but all hyper-acute stroke patients will be transported to either Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton or Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester, whichever is closer.

Implementing the changes is expected to cost around £4m out of the county’s health revenue budget (i.e. day-to-day spending) – including £1.9m for additional staffing at pay at Musgrove Park Hospital and £1.8m for similar costs at Dorset County Hospital.

Around £1.8m of capital funding will be provided to ensure Dorset County Hospital has sufficient capacity for the additional patients.

Mr Dance said he welcomed the Labour government’s consultation on the future of the NHS (which was launched last week), but was concerned about a lack of a written response or the offer of a prompt meeting with Mr Streeting.

READ MORE: Somerset MP urges government to make Musgrove commitment

He said: “I am surprised not to have heard back yet from the secretary of state as he will be aware that the HASU issue has been a cause for concern for many months.

“I have asked for the decision to be called in for the minister’s consideration, and until this happens we are left in limbo.

“With the state of the NHS especially in south Somerset, I believe this needs urgent attention from the minister, who has himself expressed support for keeping health service provision close to where it is needed.

“To help us rebuild the NHS we all need to be putting our views forward to the public consultation.”

At a recent meeting with hospital staff , Mr Dance claimed that the stroke unit currently has “a stable and loyal workforce, providing a seven days a week service” – raising doubts as to whether the ICB’s reforms were necessary.

The Department for Health and Social Care is expected to make various announcements over the future of local health services in the aftermath of the budget on Wednesday (October 30).

Mr Dance’s concerns about Yeovil Hospital were echoed by other Somerset MPs during a House of Commons debate on Tuesday (October 29) to mark World Stroke Day.

Glastonbury and Somerton MP Sarah Dyke (who secured the debate) said: “I recently spoke to Garry, who works in Somerset and had a stroke in his thirties.

“He told me that he could have been back to work after nine months if he had had access to life-after-stroke care. Instead, he spent five years recovering, during which time he had to rely on the benefits system.

“I can understand why people are scared of potentially having to travel further in an emergency when response times are so poor.

“In fact, with an average response time of 42 minutes and 50 seconds, people in Somerset wait longer for an ambulance than anywhere else in England.”

Wells and Mendip Hills MP Tessa Munt added: “I pay tribute to a young man who lived in Shepton Mallet named Will. He spotted what was happening to his father.

“He is a young man with some difficulties himself, but he recognised FAST [the Face, Arm, Speech, Time campaign for spotting the signs of a stroke].

“He had seen it on television, and it is testament to the power of television and radio campaigns in making sure that those messages get through.

“That young man has difficulties in communicating and moving, but he managed to get the rest of his family to realise what was happening to his father sitting there across the breakfast table.”

Health minister Stephen Kinnock MP said a decision would be taken shortly as to whether the changes to Yeovil Hospital’s stroke services would be formally called in by the department.

He said: “All service changes should be based on clear evidence that they will deliver better outcomes for patients.

“A high bar is set out in guidance for intervening in contested reconfiguration cases, and the reconfiguration of services should be a matter for the local NHS.

“I would expect all avenues of local resolution to have been exhausted before a call-in request is made.

“The department has received a formal request to call in NHS Somerset ICB’s decision, and ministers will make a decision on whether to use their call-in powers in due course.”