Update on building work at Somerset’s hospitals

If you’ve visited Musgrove Park or Yeovil hospitals recently you won’t have failed to notice that there’s a lot of building work happening...and we’re making great progress.

Musgrove Park Hospital - Surgical Centre

Construction on our new £87 million state-of-the-art surgical centre is well under way and it’s expected to open to patients towards the end of 2025.

The surgical centre will replace the current hospital theatres and critical care unit, which were built during the Second World War as part of a temporary casualty evacuation hospital for the D-Day landings. It will also house a brand new endoscopy suite.

In total the centre will include:

• Six endoscopy rooms, patient recovery and clinical support areas
• Eight operating theatres (including two state-of-the-art hybrid operating theatres that can be used for both surgery and interventional radiology), recovery areas and clinical support
• 22 critical care beds, all specified for level 2 and 3 critical care patients.

Much building work and service moves have taken place over the last few years in preparation for the new surgical centre, including a new sterile services centre, relocated superficial x-ray department, and main hospital kitchen move, among others.

Yeovil Hospital - Maple Unit (Breast Cancer Unit)

This week we welcomed our first patients to the Maple Unit – our brand new breast cancer unit – which marks the first time ever unit of this kind at Yeovil Hospital.

The development has been a long time in the making, supported by the work of our amazing team of fundraisers and volunteers, raising an incredible £2.9 million for the new purpose-built unit, with a fantastic Paint the Park Pink event held by our friends at Yeovil Town Football Club pushing us over the finish line for our fundraising.

Our breast care team treats and cares for over 2,000 new patients and more than 3,000 follow up patients every year at the hospital. It’ll be a place where they can get all their diagnostic tests and consultations under one roof, giving patients the best possible experience – comfortable and dignified.

Yeovil Diagnostic Centre

Hot on the heels of the breast cancer unit will be the opening of our new diagnostic centre, the second of its type in the county, following the Taunton Diagnostic Centre which opened in September 2021 and resulted in waiting lists for some tests falling dramatically.

Set to see patients for the first time at the end of 2024, it will be a modern state-of-the-art stand-alone facility adjacent to the hospital and will provide over 70,000 diagnostic tests and outpatient appointments a year – over seven days a week.

Yeovil Hospital - Orthopaedic and Planned Care Ward and Theatre

Looking further ahead, we will also see a new 20-bed planned care ward and fifth operating theatre opening at Yeovil Hospital over the next couple of years. Both these developments are expected to be for orthopaedic patients, but will flex where needed for other planned care.

The environment on the ward will be designed to create a tranquil space for patients to recover from their surgery rather than be cared for in a busy emergency or medical ward setting.

All of these developments will help us to tackle waiting lists and reduce pressures on our NHS for years to come.

Musgrove Park Hospital - New Hospitals Programme

In a separate development, we are waiting for the outcome of the government’s review into the New Hospitals Programme at Musgrove Park Hospital. We continue to work closely with the New Hospitals Programme team on our scheme to confirm plans, funding arrangements and timescales.

We’re very excited about the continued development of services across Somerset…keep an eye on our website and social media for the latest news.