Shropshire Star

Multi-million pound women and children's centre opens in Telford

A health boss today said the opening of a new £28 million women and children's centre at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, was "like Christmas".

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Cathy Smith, women and children's care director at the hospital, said the new facility, which was opening today, was "fantastic".

Patients and staff finally started arriving at the new Women and Children's Centre in Telford, this morning. It will open over two days, today and tomorrow, and will be the main inpatient facility for women and children in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and mid Wales.

Most of the current women and children services will be moved from the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, where facilities have been described as dated and cramped. Ms Smith said: "

The new centre will provide outstanding facilities within which our staff will continue to provide excellent care for women and children. Each of the wards and units are modern and spacious.

"Pregnant women will have an opportunity, where appropriate, to give birth in our lovely new birth pool, and young oncology and haematology patients and women needing treatment will also benefit from improved environments. We appreciate the input and support of patients, parents and families which have helped to shape what I'm sure will be a fantastic facility.

"I'd also like to thank each of our staff for their commitment and hard work."

A total of 40 new members of staff have been recruited, as well as many being transferred over from Shrewsbury. The centre has beds for 135 inpatients.

Plans to improve women and children's hospital facilities in Shropshire have been on the cards for 20 years.

It's taken endless meetings, decision-making, consultations and patient and staff-led focus groups – and it all culminates today with the opening of Telford's new £28million women and children's centre.

Based at Telford's Princess Royal Hospital, it is set to become the main facility providing care for women and children in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and mid Wales.

See also: Shropshire hospitals in test run to new women and children's centre.

Ahead of the opening , more than 750 staff were given time to get acclimatised to the new site through training which included learning where each ward and department is and their way around these areas of the building, as well as how to use the new equipment within the centre.

Ms Smith said: "Over the last 20 years, there has been lots of discussion and debate around the need to improve women and children's hospital facilities across Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin."

See also: Public gets first look inside Shropshire's new £28 million hospital baby unit.

A consultation was held in 2010 to discuss the future of women's and children's services in the county.

And in the following three years, an enormous amount of work has been undertaken by staff, patients, partners and the public to get the latest facilities in the county.

Ms Smith added: "A project team and numerous task groups were set up and lots of meetings were held with staff, partners and members of our local communities.

"We also held several focus groups with interested patients and families to help us agree the details within the new centre.

"We are currently focusing on ensuring the building is ready to open for 29 and 30 September and that we safely transfer women and children's inpatient services from the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital to the new Shropshire Women and Children's Centre at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford.

"Over the next few weeks we will be working with staff to help them settle in to the new centre."

Some of the most recent sessions have involved staff on the neonatal unit at the RSH undergoing a variety of training as they prepare to move over to a large unit within the new centre .

About 50 staff have attended the neonatal unit training alone, made up of senior ward staff, advanced neonatal nurse practitioners, staff nurses and women's services assistants.

Sessions have included tours and familiarisation of the different parts of the centre, as well as the various scenarios.

Further improvements at the new centre include relocating antenatal day assessment and making improvements to the environment of maternity outpatients and scans, which are due to be ready in December.

Improvements will also be made to the environment for the services which will remain in the existing maternity building at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

Work will begin in the building on Monday, October 6 and will affect children's outpatients, maternity outpatients, maternity day assessment, the early pregnancy assessment service and maternity and ultrasound pregnancy scanning.

Ms Smith added that plans were also in place to enhance the environments at the five Midwife-led units in Shropshire.

Kate Shaw, programme manager for the future Configuration of Hospital Services at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, said: "More than 750 staff from our Women and Children's Care

Group as well as other clinicians who work closely with the service have been trained and this acclimatisation and training will continue ahead of the centre opening.

"With any new building project, it's important that such training and exercises take place to ensure the building is ready and that all the equipment works, but also to get staff used to working in a new environment.

"The centre will be an excellent facility providing care for women and children from across Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and mid Wales when it opens at the end of the month."

Part of the building is already being used, as the children's ward at the Princess Royal Hospital

moved from the first floor of the hospital down into its former location on the ground floor, which has

been refurbished and is now part of the new centre.

It is the only part of the centre which opened before the end of September.

Whilst Women and Children's Services are changing, most people accessing the service will continue to go to the same hospital as they do now. Both the PRH and the RSH will still have a Midwife-led Unit, a Children's Assessment Unit as well as Outpatient services.

Women having a low-risk birth will still be able to choose to have their baby at home, at one of our five Midwife-led Units (at Oswestry, Bridgnorth, Ludlow, Shrewsbury, or Wrekin at PRH) or one of the midwife-led units provided by the Powys Teaching Health Board.

Focus groups will be held on Tuesday, October 7 at 12pm in Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and at 6.30pm on Wednesday, October 8 to update patients and families on the new facilities and plans for the future of women and children's services To attend a focus group email future@sath.nhs.uk or call 01743 261183.

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