YEOVIL NEWS: Laws tells health officials to scrap plans to move stroke unit away from town

YEOVIL MP David Laws has called on the Somerset NHS Clinical Commissioning Group to scrap its plan to relocate emergency stroke services away from the town.

There are plans to move the facilities away from Yeovil District Hospital to Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton.

Mr Laws is due to meet the leaders of the NHS Clinical Commissioning Group this Thursday (May 22, 2014).

He will call on the CCG to retain emergency stroke services in both Yeovil and Taunton.

Mr Laws said: “While I am pleased that the local NHS is considering ways of improving our stroke services, I am not convinced by the proposals to remove emergency stroke services from Yeovil Hospital, and I hope that the Clinical Commissioning Group will now drop these plans. This is the first big local decision to be taken by the new CCG, and I think it would be a great pity if the decision was seen to be risky and without a strong evidence base.

“I am concerned that what is being proposed may be workable in some large urban areas, but does not make any sense in a large rural area such as Somerset.

“We know that effective emergency stroke care means that patients need to be seen and treated quickly – but the current proposal can only add to travel times, particularly for those people living around Yeovil and for residents of North Dorset.

“We know that journey times from Yeovil to Taunton can be quite long, particularly when there is traffic congestion or an accident which closes the A358.”

The CCG want to house all of its stroke services under one roof in order to attract top medical staff and create a unit of excellence.

But Mr Laws added: “Of course, the key consideration must be what is best for patients, but the quality of care at Musgrove and YeovilHospital looks quite similar, so it is not as if patients are getting a totally different standard of care by accessing a different centre.

“I know that many local residents are concerned about this proposal, and I have had many letters questioning the wisdom of what is being considered.

“This week I will be meeting the CCG and asking them to reconsider their plans. We ought to be looking at how to improve our existing services at both Yeovil and Taunton rather than going ahead with changes which would be both risky and cost more.”

PHOTOS: Yeovil District Hospital is set to lose its stroke unit facilities under new health proposals, while (top) is important advice about how to Act Fast in the event of someone having a stroke.

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