‘Old hospital buildings causing traumatic births’

“Traumatic, super-hot and overcrowded” are just some of the words mums used to describe their experience at “inadequate” maternity hospitals.

Many women have spoken out about their distressing births at Musgrove Park in Taunton and Yeovil District Hospital, Somerset, which were both declared inadequate by the Care Quality Commission in May.

One woman was wheeled naked into a reception because the wards were “too hot” so she had to take all her clothes off.

Another mum-to-be was “ignored” by midwives when she told them she was going into labour. She said during the “traumatic birth”, she felt “very alone” and ended up with a tear.

Many of the issues at both hospitals have reportedly arisen because the buildings are “not fit for purpose”, and parents are now calling for them to be revamped.

Musgrove Park was on the list of Boris Johnson’s 2019 Conservative election pledge for hospital upgrades.

But the funding was not allocated before the general election in July 2024. Hospital bosses are now waiting to hear if the new government will still fund the project.

The CQC found expired milk in the fridge and concluded there had been a “deterioration” in the quality of care provided at the hospital.

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust bosses said a lot of work has been carried out to improve maternity services since the CQC inspection.

Hollie Hutchings, from Taunton, gave birth to her son Sydney in 2022 at Musgrove Park. She was happy with her pre-natal care but started to feel concerned in labour.

Ms Hutchings said: “The issue was that the midwives just didn’t listen to me, I knew I was going into labour and they didn’t seem to believe me.

“Sydney was born very quickly and the midwife barely put her gloves on to catch him.

“I felt really alone and just not cared for.”

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.

The “traumatic” birth ended up with her suffering a tear.

Ms Hutchings said the buildings at the hospital were also “really old and run down”.

“It was 34C (93.2F) and there was no fans available at the Willow Ward, it was just windows open.

“The nurses and midwives felt my frustration too – they knew how bad the buildings were,” said Ms Hutchings.

However, the upgrade to the maternity wards remains uncertain.

“We are desperately hoping that the government review of the new hospital programme will go our way and we can hopefully build a new women’s and children’s centre.

“We are making do with a building that’s essentially not fit for purpose,” said the trust’s director of midwifery Sally Bryant.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “A review of the programme is ongoing, which will provide a thorough, costed, and realistic timeline for delivery and ensure we can replace the crumbling hospital estate in England as we build an NHS fit for the future.

“Separately, it is unacceptable that too many women are not receiving the maternity care that they deserve. This government wants to ensure all women receive safe, personalised, and compassionate care from maternity services,” it added.

Nicki Hale, from Taunton, who gave birth to Barnaby in 2022, also slammed Musgrove Park’s building for causing issues during her labour.

She experienced four early miscarriages, one of which almost killed her, she told BBC Radio Somerset.

During her labour, she said the midwives were “brilliant and supportive”, but she became concerned over the care of her new born during the first few hours after birth.

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.

“I’m not an architect, but the building has not stood the test of time.

“This atmosphere was causing troubles for the new mums and it’s also causing issues with the babies because of these old buildings.

“The people that are working there are not inadequate but the building is inadequate.”

Georgie Murray-Gourley, who lives in Taunton, said the “constant changing” of the midwives during the pregnancy was disappointing and made it “hard” to communicate.

“I kept having issues in the pregnancy and triage took ages – they wouldn’t get back until a day later,” she said.

Ms Murray-Gourley, who gave birth via c-section, said she was also discharged from the hospital too early due to a lack of beds.

“I should have stayed there longer than I did. I felt pushed out because of the need for beds,” she said.

“It’s not fair the way I was treated,” she added.

In terms of what the hospital trust can do, Ms Murrary-Gourley, said they need to make people aware if they are short on beds by having waiting times available like they do with their A&E services.

“It would help people understand the pressures the hospital is under,” she added.

And mums who have given birth at Yeovil District Hospital also have concerns about the building.

Hannah Francis said after her son was delivered via c-section in October 2022, it was “so overcrowded” that there “were five new born babies in a tiny room”.

“It kind of felt like stepping back in time with the building,” she said.

“The midwives were doing the best they could in the situation they are in but there was so little communication,” she added.

Ms Francis said while she was “not medically ready to leave the hospital” she just “had to get out”.

Ms Bryant said she understands, despite having some air conditioning units, the post-natal ward on the Musgrove site is “really hot” but said they were “incredibly restricted” with their buildings.

“They were never built for maternity services – they were built in the World War Two and we have to make do with some very old buildings,” she said.

She also thanked families for their feedback.

“It’s really important we listen to this feedback and we use that to inform any changes to our services,” she added.