Parents-to-be are invited to an open evening at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital (RBH) next week to find out more about the new maternity unit being created on site and the birthing options available to women in the area.
The Trust is creating a new midwifery-led unit at RBH located close to the hospital’s road, improving access for arriving mums. The unit will have two en-suite birthing rooms, both with pools, and a postnatal room with en suite facilities for those needing to stay overnight.
Dedicated car parking bays will be situated outside and the location will improve emergency transfers by ambulance should mothers need obstetric support, available at Poole Hospital. The unit should be open by the summer.
The Trust’s dedicated midwifery team will also continue their work in the community and support women who are considering a home birth.
The open evening will be an opportunity to find out more about the unit, give your views and speak to midwives about having a home birth. It will take place on Wednesday 22 January at 7.30pm in the Conference Room, Education Centre, Royal Bournemouth Hospital. Tea and coffee will be provided.
Acting Head of Midwifery, Pauline Hawkes, said: “I’m really excited about the new unit. It will enable us to provide a more homely, rather than a clinical, environment for our parents to be and I hope people will come along to our event and find out more.”
The Bournemouth midwifery birth service, which sees around 380 births a year in the birth unit and a further 70 home births, is for low risk women who are expected to have a straight forward birth. Mothers do not have immediate access to highly technically skilled obstetric staff, such as obstetricians, anaesthetists or neonatal nurses. Mothers and babies needing this support are transferred to Poole Hospital, which provides a full obstetric service. The current unit is situated in the main hospital building.
If you would like to attend, please contact June Loveless on 01202 704220 or email june.loveless@rbch.nhs.uk
