West Dorset’s MP, Chris Loder, has escalated to the Chief Executive of Somerset NHS ICB to raise ‘significant reservations’ about the plan to close the Hyper-Acute Stroke unit and Acute Stroke Care facility at Yeovil District Hospital.
Mr Loder, who has been in dialogue with the local NHS Trust since the plan was announced, is concerned that the decision will risk health outcomes for patients in West Dorset, especially those living in the north of the constituency.
He said: “I have significant reservations about the decision to remove stroke services from Yeovil District Hospital. Not least because my understanding is that provision in Dorset County Hospital will not be in place before the services at Yeovil District Hospital are closed.”
The local MP added: “The closure of the stroke facilities at Yeovil is intended to unlock the development of a single hyperacute stroke unit at Taunton. But this means an unnecessarily long for West Dorset’s residents, and risks health outcomes until the services at Dorset County are operational. I’m concerned for the health and wellbeing of stroke patients in West Dorset, and I am working hard to ensure a suitable outcome for patients.”
