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

A brand new breast cancer unit is set to open this Monday (7 October) at Yeovil Hospital.

The Maple Unit will open after a five year long fundraising campaign, run by our official charity, which saw members of the community, former patients and colleagues at the hospital take part in hundreds of events to raise money for the unit.

It’s the first time ever that Yeovil Hospital has had a stand-alone, purpose-built breast cancer unit.

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, one our consultant breast surgeons at Yeovil Hospital, says she’s thrilled that the Maple Unit is finally opening following a long fundraising campaign.

“This is absolutely amazing news and I’m over the moon that it’s finally opening,” she says. “It has been such a long time in the making, from when we first came up with the idea 10 years ago, and the incredible fundraising campaign that followed, to seeing the unit getting built before our very eyes.

“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.

“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.

“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 adds 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,” she continues. “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.”

James Kirton, head of the charity, said he’s very proud of everyone who has given so much time, effort and money to the fundraising campaign.

“Developing a new breast unit has only been possible thanks to a successful fundraising campaign, which brought in a wide range of support from the local community and also further afield,” he says.

“The breast cancer unit appeal was launched by Yeovil Hospital Charity in March 2019 and has raised almost £2.9 million.

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

“It actually 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.”

Maggie Hague, who has received breast care from Yeovil Hospital and chose to take 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, adds: “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.”

Karina Parsons has also been under the care of our breast care team. “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,” she says.

“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.”

Suleiman Al-Sadi, an architectural assistant at Stride Treglown, says: “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 – 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.”