Yeovil District Hospital (YDH) became an NHS Foundation Trust in 2006, affirming its position as one of the top performing hospitals in the country. A high performing NHS employer, the hospital has an iCARE philosophy of treating both staff and patients as individuals, with courtesy and respect.
Like any other NHS hospital, Foundation Trusts provide and develop services for NHS patients according to NHS principles and standards; similarly they are subject to NHS systems of inspection. YDH is accountable to parliament and regulated by Monitor, but a level of relative independence means the Foundation Trust can tailor its services to best meet the needs of the local population. Foundation Trusts have greater freedoms to manage their own affairs and improve services, responding to patients’ needs.
A little more about YDH and our community
YDH has 345 beds and provides acute care, including maternity services, for a growing population of 180,000 people, mostly in South Somerset, North and West Dorset and parts of Mendip. The Trust has a private patients’ facility, the Kingston Wing, which offers a personal service in state-of-the-art clinical facilities.
The Trust provides outpatient and inpatient consultant services for a range of specialisms including general medicine, cardiology, general surgery, orthopaedic surgery, trauma and paediatrics. Patients who have had hip and knee replacement procedures can benefit from an enhanced recovery programme with full multi-disciplinary input leading to a shorter hospital stay. A major £7 million expansion in critical care facilities opened in 2007, providing state of the art High Dependency and Coronary Care Units. The major Accident and Emergency Centre, which has a paediatric assessment unit, has been rated as among the country’s best in a national survey of patients.
The Trust’s Radiology Department offers diagnostic radiology, together with ultrasound screening, CT, colour Doppler and MRI scanning. The MRI and CT suites have been refurbished with state of the art equipment and the x-ray system has been fully digitalised. The Department of Medicine is equipped for echo-cardiology, colour flow Doppler, exercise testing and 24 hour ECG monitoring. There is also a fully equipped Respiratory Laboratory and Yeovil is one of the few centres in the area providing a Bone Densitometry service.
You can find out more about the local area, Yeovil Hospital, read the Chief Executive’s introduction and see how we performed last year in our ‘About Yeovil Hospital’ booklet.
Our partners
Yeovil District Hospital has links with other acute Trusts at Taunton and Dorchester with visiting consultants providing ENT, Oral Surgery, Neurology, Dermatology and GU Medicine services. Thoracic Surgery, Oncology, Radiotherapy and Plastic Surgery services are provided by visiting consultants from Bristol. The regional neurosurgical and burns centre is at Frenchay Hospital (North Bristol) and Cardiothoracic Surgery is at Bristol Hospital.
There are four local community hospitals run by NHS Somerset at South Petherton, Wincanton, Crewkerne and Chard. The majority of the beds are used for GP care. The newly re-opened South Petherton Hospital also provides beds for stroke patients with the support of YDH clinicians. Yeovil District Hospital provides a wide range of outpatient services at South Petherton. There are minor injury units at Crewkerne and Chard hospitals and Verrington Hospital in Wincanton which are run by GPs and nurses. Verrington Hospital accommodates the Herridge Unit for rehabilitation of the elderly. NHS Dorset manages the Yeatman Hospital in Sherborne which has a minor injuries unit and a surgical day ward with an operating theatre equipped for minor and intermediate day surgery.
Our vision
Yeovil District Hospital’s vision is to provide a broad range of integrated patient services which are delivered to the highest standard, are safe, effective and sustainable and arranged for the convenience of local people. The Trust’s aims are targeted at both our patients and our hospital:
Aims for our community:
- Personal, high quality and safe care
- Strong sustainable services meeting local needs
- A valued partner in the local NHS
Aims for our hospital:
- Our staff are our greatest strength
- Managing our money wisely
- Infrastructure that supports delivery.
At YDH we promise to provide:
- Clear and effective communication
- An open, polite and professional attitude at all times
- Respect for patients, carers and staff
- A clean, safe and friendly environment.
About Yeovil Hospital Brochure
To read more about Yeovil Hospital see here.
