Yeovil District Hospital is running a £2.4m fund-raising campaign to support a major planned investment in enhancing the 42-year-old Women’s Hospital - our Women’s Health and Maternity Unit which benefits around 10,000 women of all ages from across South Somerset, parts of Dorset and Mendip, who use it each year.

The Women’s Hospital is an integral part of Yeovil District Hospital and adjoins the main building. The Trust is improving and updating the building to provide an environment that matches the high standard of care we provide. The first phase of the appeal was completed during the Spring of 2012 with the opening of a new coffee shop and ground floor reception area. This much needed coffee shop benefits all patients and visitors to the Women’s Hospital as well as the staff. It provides a non-clinical environment for women and their partners in the early stages of labour, for families visiting and for the elderly and cancer patients who are attending clinics. There are also plans to provide extra support for some of the hospital’s users in the coffee shop by introducing peer support services for specific groups.

The next milestone for the appeal was the provision of a birthing pool - the first baby was born during September 2012.The birthing pool is seen as an expectation for a modern maternity service and provides an enhanced facility for our mums-to-be.

The maternity unit has recently been awarded a UNICEF award for the support it gives to breastfeeding mums - it is one of just a small number of hospitals in the region to have earned this prestigious award.

Work has begun on upgrading the rest of the ground floor. The aim is to ensure flexibility of clinical space, adaptable rooms and maximum capacity for both clinics and treatments to enable one stop shop pathways reducing the number of times women have to attend hospital appointments. Money raised will help to move clinics out of hospital corridors and create an enhanced outpatient area to improve patient privacy and dignity, improve facilities for colposcopy and infertility treatment, modernise the Women’s Hospital theatres (which are currently used for maternity and gynaecology patients with plans to provide a breast surgery service in the near future).

With a five to six per cent growth in demand the Women’s Hospital also needs to increase the number of birthing rooms to meet current and future demand. The hospital also plans to create en-suite facilities in the birthing rooms and to improve and increase toilet and bathroom facilities.

If you wish to find out more about the Flying Colours Appeal or would like to support it by holding a fundraising event please call Head of Fundraising, James Kirton on 01935 383020 or email [email protected] or contact our Community Fundraiser, Sarah Cherry on 07920 207914 or email [email protected].