MP shocked by hospital maternity conditions

The MP for Taunton and Wellington, Gideon Amos, has said he was “horrified” to see the working conditions for staff in Musgrove Park Hospital’s Maternity Unit.

Mr Amos visited the hospital on Friday after raising the urgent need for improvements there in Parliament earlier in the week.

He said afterwards: “My first official meeting as MP in the constituency was with the Chair and Chief Executive of the Somerset NHS Trust at Musgrove, following up the importance I, and voters, gave the NHS in the election.

“We talked about the priority which needs to be given to social care and mental health - and the trust’s innovative work which is giving people positive mental health intervention earlier than elsewhere in the country.

“But frankly I’m horrified by the conditions staff are working under in the Maternity buildings - it’s worse than even I thought.

“Thirty-degree heat is no condition in which to look after pregnant mums.

“The new hospital promised by the Conservatives was never real and the fallback promise to renew the Maternity Unit still hasn’t been honoured.

“That’s why I raised it with the Chancellor face to face in the House of Commons last week.

“She’s promised me a meeting with the Health Secretary which I’m following up.

“Along with care, dentists and more GPs, we need to get our NHS back on its feet - and that’s my number one priority.”

The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, announced in her Spending Inheritance Statement last week that the previous Tory Government’s New Hospitals Programme would be subject to a review.

Mr Amos asked whether Ms Reeves shared the anger of the people of Taunton and Wellington to find out “that not only has the whole new hospital promised by the previous Conservative government not been funded, but also apparently the new Maternity Unit may not be funded.”

The Chancellor replied: “I can fully understand why his constituents are so angry with the previous government for leaving this mess and making unfunded commitments.”