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Maternity wards at Stafford's County Hospital to undergo major revamp

Maternity wards at the County Hospital will get a major revamp as part of re-organisation of services for pregnant mothers and the transfer of some facilities to Stoke on Trent and Wolverhampton.

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Two birthing rooms for low-risk cases will remain at the site as health bosses continue to reassure women that they will be given the best care if they have to travel to other hospitals to have their baby.

From next month the unit will be midwife-led at the Weston Road site while consultant-led services, for medium to high-risk births, will move to either New Cross Hospital or the Royal Stoke University Hospital on January 16.

But Karen Meadowcroft, head of midwifery at the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, has revealed that the Stafford suite will be refurbished as part of a £250 million refit of the hospital.

The facelift will see the maternity floor redesigned to create space for ante-natal facilities that will be moved to the upper floor maternity unit, along with offices and waiting areas to develop an integrated women's floor.

Of the two free standing birthing rooms that will remain one will have a pool, and that room is currently being refurbished. A further seven rooms will be vacant from next month and will be converted into space for the clinics and offices that will be required.

"This is still a great place to come and give birth. The trust is very interested in maternity services in this area and certainly it is a good service and it receives good evaluations.

"There will births in Stafford, but complex cases will need to go either to Stoke or to New Cross. This is dependent on whether the woman has health issues and on their previous birthing history.

"It will be a small vibrant unit and mothers will have a choice in where they want to give birth. There are benefits to being part of a big university hospital group. We think as people learn more about what is on offer they will enjoy making the most of their choices," Ms Meadowcroft said.

She said as is the practice in the Moorlands areas, mothers from Stafford and surrounding communities will be advised on how to prepare for travel time to get to Stoke, about 17 miles away, if they are in labour.

Building work at Stafford will be carried out in the new year and the new-look maternity floor is due to be completed by Easter.

"We think improvements to the general environment will help. We want to keep the things here that work because we have got some ideas about making improvements to the services. For example, in Stoke there is a breast feeding support plan for the people who struggle. That is one of the projects that we would like to replicate at Stafford to ensure there are support staff available and that the advice to women trying to breast feed is consistent," she added.

Mothers-to-be can also choose to have a home birth and will be able to discuss options with their community midwife. Those who will need to go elsewhere include mothers with kidney and heart conditions, or diabetes as the specialists will be based at the larger hospitals.

Patients with neurological issues, such as epilepsy, and those with by substance misuse issues are already cared for at the other hospitals.

In 2013 there were 1,700 births at Stafford County, at its peak previously there were around 3,000 births a year there.

Trust bosses have now written to 600 women, who are expecting to have their babies at County Hospital soon to tell them about the changes.

The changes are as part of an overhaul of health services which has seen the former Stafford Hospital taken over and re-named. The Accident and & Emergency unit will double in size, outpatient facilities will be expanded, wards will be refurbished and a new theatre opened. Children's services are also being moved to Stoke in the next few months, as well as acute and major inpatient surgery.

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