This week QCG received the first glimmer of hope that there is still a potential to save our Hyper Acute Stroke unit at Yeovil District Hospital. Following QCG request to have the decision 'called in' to the Secretary for Health and Social Care, along with follow up emails direct to the Minister and the Department for Health and Social Care - we have finally received a response.

While not a decisive output on granting the call-in it does highlight that no decisions has been made NOT TO call-in. Therefore QCG remain hopeful that this decision can be overturned and our vital service at YDH can be saved (and invested in).

Please see below the response in full and please continue to support our ongoing fight for the rights of Yeovil and South Somerset residents to be given the care they deserve. Let use this this to drive the petition forward as we target 11,000 signatures and beyond. Please continue to share the message and lets push for a call-in by the Secretary for Health and Social Care, 

"Thank you for your correspondence of 19 July about Yeovil District Hospital. I have been asked to reply, and I apologise for the delay in doing so.

I appreciate your concerns, and would like to assure you that your requests have been received and that departmental officials are looking into the issues you have raised. 
I understand you have submitted formal requests asking that the Secretary of state use the powers, under Schedule 10A of the National Health Service Act 2006, to call in the decision by NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board to close Yeovil District Hospital's Hyper Acute Stroke Unit (HASU).

You have requested that the proposed closure of the HASU at Yeovil Hospital be called in because there are concerns with the process that has been followed by NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board and a decision has been made, and there are concerns that this proposal is not in the best interests of the health service in the area.
I acknowledge that this is a decision you and others in your community have campaigned against, including the petition that was initiated by the Quicksilver Community Group.

You specifically raise the issue of transport and the impact on patients, and families, as well as several other concerns. This information will be taken into account alongside your requests and supporting documentation.

I appreciate the Quicksilver Community Group’s request to meet with the Secretary of State to present the petition and discuss your concerns in person and thank you again for your correspondence. The Department is considering your requests, and the Secretary of State will decide in due course how to proceed.

I hope this reply is helpful.

Yours sincerely,
Correspondence Officer
Ministerial Correspondence and Public Enquiries
Department of Health and Social Care"