Taunton & Wellington MP Gideon Amos called for work at Musgrove park Hospital's maternity unit to be brought forward

Health & Wellbeing News Politics Taunton

Dad’s shock over mould at Taunton maternity unit prompts Commons complaint

Paul JonesMarch 6, 20260 Comment0

“I WOULDN’T have this in my own home and certainly don’t expect to see it in a hospital.”

Those were the words of dad Nick Kilby, who was shocked to find mould on the walls and ceiling of the hospital ward where his new-born daughter was being cared for.

After his experience, he raised concerns over the state of the Musgrove Park Hospital Maternity Unit with MP, Gideon Amos (Lib Dem, Taunton & Wellington).

“It should be a clinically safe place to bring new lives into the world – it’s absolute madness,” he said.

“I wouldn’t have this in my own home and certainly don’t expect to see it in a hospital.”

The shocking revelation was referenced when MP Gideon Amos (Lib Dem, Taunton & Wellington) raised the “dire state” of the maternity unit at Musgrove Park Hospital, in Taunton, in the House of Commons.

Redevelopment of the unit – which was built during World War Two – is included in the government’s funding programme, but isn’t scheduled to happen until 2033.

Dad Nick Kilby was shocked to spot mould on the ward where his new daughter was being cared for at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton

MP Mr Amos has been campaigning for the work to be brought forward and raised the issue in Parliament during a Westminster Hall debate on NHS capital spending.

“In the summer, we have medical staff fainting in the 30C heat in single-storey buildings that were built in World War Two, and in the winter, we have holes in the walls and rows of buckets in corridors to catch the water,” he said.

“We even have roof guttering mounted inside the building in several locations to deal with the leaks.”

Welcoming the Government’s increased capital spending for the NHS, Mr Amos told Karin Smyth, the minister for secondary care, it was too late for Musgrove.

“Last year, as a result of cross-party campaigns and to the Government’s credit, Taunton and Somerset got a glass-half-full announcement about the hospital programme – it was included in the second wave of funding,” he told the Commons.

“Unfortunately, that is not until 2033, which is later than is needed. We need action before that.”

Mr Amos said he was working with the Somerset NHS Trust on efforts to get the work done, and referred to a recent interview during which Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the government “would do our best to bring forward schemes”.

“They (the Somerset trust) have sensible plans that could expedite those projects and get on with the vital planning work that we know needs to happen so far ahead of the project,” he said.

“That could be started next year.

“Can the Minister meet with me at some point to look realistically at the trust’s proposals to expedite the vital need for a maternity unit in Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton?”

At the end of the debate, Ms Smyth said she had “met NHS England about looking at maternity in the area, which I know is a huge concern, and I am happy to meet him”.

Mr Kilby said he was fully behind efforts to bring forward the new maternity and paediatric until, and added:

“They need new everything really – and the sooner the better.”

Somerset NHS Foundation trust has been contacted for comment.