‘Resentment’ uncovered in ‘inadequate’ children’s unit

Inspectors have branded a hospital’s paediatric services “inadequate” and warned of “resentment” among medical staff following a trust merger.

Yeovil District Hospital – which recently closed its birthing unit after admitting it “cannot safely run” the service – has seen its paediatric services downgraded from “good” to “inadequate” following a Care Quality Commission inspection that took place in January.

The inspection report into YDH’s children’s and young people’s services, released today, described a lack of experienced staff and inadequate learning from serious incidents.

It also described a “level of resentment” among some medical staff following YDH’s merger with Somerset Foundation Trust in April 2023, which had prevented a “culture of continuous improvement”.

Last month, Somerset FT temporarily closed the special care baby unit and inpatient maternity services at YDH for at least six months after receiving a warning notice from the CQC in January about significant gaps in medical staffing.

The report said: “There was a level of resentment felt by some medical staff. Some staff told us the key leadership roles had been appointed and therefore felt new ways of working had been imposed upon them. There was not a culture of continuous improvement.”