19/07/2010

The new Women’s Centre at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital will be finished ahead of schedule and is due to open its doors in January 2011.

The centre will provide enhanced care for women and their babies in new, state-of-the-art facilities. The delivery suite in the new centre will be the single, centralised maternity service for women in the county who might require medical or anaesthetic intervention during labour. The centre also includes a separate midwifery-led birth unit for ‘low risk’ women.

Dhushy Mahendran, Chief of Service, Women’s & Children’s Services: “The opening of the centre is excellent news for women and their babies in Gloucestershire. As well as providing additional facilities to help women with complex care needs during labour, the self-contained midwifery unit will enable women to give birth in a home-from-home environment.”

At the same time, a new midwifery-led birth unit in Cheltenham will open, suitable for women expecting low-risk births. Stroud Maternity Hospital (run by Gloucestershire Care Services) remains as an alternative choice for women whose births are considered to be low-risk.

Midwives will be contacting women whose choices are affected or influenced by the opening of the new Centre. Women are encouraged to talk to their midwives about all the available options before making their choice.

 

The Facts at a Glance

 

Obstetric delivery suite features 12 en-suite rooms along with three dedicated to women requiring high-dependency care.

Two obstetric Theatres in the new centre will benefit from a close link with the Hospital’s department of Critical Care – in the rare cases when serious complications arise.

Access to specialists, together with round-the-clock intensive care facilities will offer additional support to seriously ill and premature babies.

Centralising neonatal facilities on one site means the number of intensive care cots available in the county will increase from seven to ten, with 14 special care cots.

7 self-contained LDRP (Labour, Delivery, Recovery, Postpartum) rooms in the midwifery-led birth unit enable women without complex care needs to give birth in a homely, non-clinical environment.

Midwifery-led birth units at Cheltenham General and Stroud Maternity Hospital (managed by Gloucestershire Care Services) will remain, offering women across the county more choice.

Outpatient care departments for gynaecology, ultrasound and ante and post-natal care will be provided in the new centre. Existing clinics for these specialities will continue at Cheltenham General, Stroud and other community hospitals, ensuring that women can continue to have their outpatient care at their local hospital.

Schedule of opening:

Outpatient Clinics: 10.01.11

Delivery suite, midwifery-led birth unit, neonatal unit: 15.01.11