Yeovil Hospital 'needs to sort out finances' watchdog says

The hospital has been rated as requires improvement by the CQC

Yeovil District Hospital has been rated as requiring improvement as it needs to tackle its finances more effectively, a watchdog says.

Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said the two areas which need improvement were making services safe and being well led.

The report also stated there was "a significant failing of financial governance".

Yeovil Hospital said it was addressing those financial shortcomings.

The hospital spokesman said: "Clearly, we are disappointed that an overall rating of 'good' has not been possible despite the CQC's positive assessment of our clinical services.

"However, we were not able to demonstrate that we had sufficient grip on our use of resources, or that our plans were robust enough to address our deficit in the long-term.

"We are addressing these shortcomings in our financial governance and are determined to turnaround this assessment in the coming months."

'Dignity and respect'

Maternity services were rated as good, with the care of patients there said to be outstanding.

"Women were treated with dignity and respect and emotional support," the inspectors said.

"The service was responsive to the needs of women and their partners.

"Services were planned to give choice and were available when needed."

Another area also recognised as outstanding was the maternity unit's care of mothers who lost their babies through stillbirths.

Other services which had improved from the previous inspection in 2016 were services for children and young people, which is now rated overall as good.

However, more work needs to be done in the way young people are admitted to specialist mental health units.

"We were concerned about the overall safety of the environment with the necessary admission of children with mental health problems where there were no beds available to them in specialist mental health services," the report said.