Dorset hospital staff expecting extra 20% births this year

Extra births at Dorset County Hospital, caused by the sudden closure of the Yeovil maternity unit, has not stressed staff at the Dorchester hospital.

At least 20 per cent of the 1,200-1,300 births which would have taken place at Yeovil, until it closed on May 19 because of safety concerns, are expected to come to the Dorset county town hospital over at least the next six months.

In a normal year the DCH maternity unit helps deliver 1,600 babies. The Yeovil closure could add 300 Somerset mums, or more – taking the DCH unit beyond its 1,800 maximum capacity.

But Dorchester staff say they are planning for the extra workload, will be seconding some of the Somerset midwives and other staff to DCH, as well as looking at additional local staffing, finances and space.

Said chief operating officer at the Dorset hospital Anita Thomas: “We are not in the business of providing care we feel is unsafe; we are absolutely doing everything we can to protect the safety of those giving birth, their families and their babies here at DCH.”

The additional pressure on DCH comes at a time when it is near the end of a two-year journey to make improvements following a Care Quality Commission inspection in June 2023 which said Dorchester maternity ‘required improvement’ – something which the hospital says already has been achieved.

Cllr Jane Somper, vice chair of Dorset Council’s people and health scrutiny board said on Thursday that she found the DCH response to the Somerset crisis “really impressive.”

“Nothing is perfect but you have been able to pull your teams together to provide what is, perhaps the most important service, of bringing new lives into the world,” she said.

Sherborne rural councillor, Robin Legg, told the meeting that most mothers from his area were likely to opt for Dorchester, which could be achieved in around half an hour, compared to an hour’s trip to Taunton, Bath or Salisbury hospitals.

He said he worried that if DCH received more Somerset mothers than estimated the unit could find itself being overwhelmed. He also doubted if Yeovil Hospital could solve its problems in its maternity unit within six months, and even if they did, some families might scontinue to opt for births at Dorchester well beyond the six month ‘temporary’ closure of the Somerset maternity unit.

DCH is no stranger to Somerset women giving birth in the unit – over the years around 10per cent of births have been from over the county border to the north, with many also coming to Dorchester from Devon and East Dorset.

Director of Nursing at Dorchester, Joanna Howarth, told the meeting that the maternity unit started to get calls from Somerset families as soon as news of the Yeovil maternity unit closure became known.

She said that since then meetings had been held with the Somerset unit with planning starting immediately for an influx of mothers and how to cope with them.

For many Somerset families pre-birth services will still be delivered at Yeovil with the Blandford Community Hospital being asked to help out for those living relatively nearby.

Staff from Yeovil have already been visiting Dorchester to familiarise themselves with the unit, with a visit from neo-natal staff due to take place in the coming week.

“We have given them a warm welcome and are being very inclusive” said the Director.

Yetminster councillor Chris Kippax said there was concern about the Yeovil maternity unit closure throughout a wide area of Dorset: “We do need some categorical reassurance that the service will be operational again – it’s too critical for so many and will be needed,” he said.

Pic – Dorset County Hospital