Hospital’s Minister attends top level discussions for Musgrove Park Hospital Upgrade

Last Thursday, Health Minister Lord Markham CBE, who is responsible for the New Hospital Programme and hospital upgrades, visited Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton to see the site first-hand and discuss the future work plans for the upgrade. Back in May, the Secretary of State for Health confirmed that Musgrove Park Hospital is part of ‘Cohort 4’ and it remains on track for completion by 2030.

The ambitious Musgrove 2030 programme involves developing a range of state-of-the-art medical facilities with a priority being to replace the plethora of antiquated WW2 buildings still housing key parts of the hospital such as the maternity unit and the children’s services. This phase of development will follow the recent completion of the £11m Surgical Admissions unit and the new £87m surgical theatre complex which is underway at the moment.

During the visit, Lord Markham chaired a meeting alongside local MP Rebecca Pow, who was instrumental in securing the funding for the current developments and the upgrade. The roundtable brought together stakeholders from the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust to share views on priorities to ensure integrated join up across all sectors of health in Somerset. 

Local MP Rebecca Pow said:

“It was a really useful meeting bringing together health leaders from wide ranging parts of the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust. It is important to ensure plans for the new facilities work in a holistic way - out in the community and in primary and acute care.

Getting a fully streamlined digital system for our health services is pivotal to the success of our future plans. At the moment there are literally hundreds of different systems operating in the health sector in Somerset alone and these need to be carefully pulled together. This was something all those present at the meeting agreed on. This will make such a difference for patients in terms of health outcomes, speed of diagnosis and treatment, but it will also be really important in ensuring our hard-working health professionals can spend their time on what really matters rather than worrying about how to access multiple, diverse digital systems.

Lord Markham was receptive to all the points made and I stressed to him that given Somerset NHS Foundation Trust’s unique position having already brought together community, mental health, acute and GP practices – Musgrove Park Hospital has the potential to become a digital pilot that could lead the way not just locally but nationally too. I will be working with local health stakeholders and Lord Markham on the future possibilities.'

Commenting last week, Health Minister Lord Markham said:

“We are investing in new NHS facilities across the country so patients can access high quality care in state-of-the-art hospitals, both now and in the years to come.

“The South West will benefit from 11 new hospitals by 2030 and this week I’ve been visiting some of the sites and speaking to patients, staff and local leaders across the region about the plans and progress. These hospitals and upgrades will help to improve care and allow patients to be seen more quickly, which will help to cut waiting lists – one of the government’s top five priorities.

“In the long term, our new standardised design means we can rapidly replicate new hospitals across the country, helping to speed up construction and deliver on our commitment of 40 new hospitals by 2030.”