STAFF on Warrington Hospital’s labour ward are celebrating after securing nearly £450,000 of national funding for a major refurbishment.
The labour rooms will be upgraded, with en-suite facilities, new birthing suites and an extra birthing pool. 
While building work goes on, the labour ward will make a temporary move to a new location within the hospital from the end of next week.
Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s maternity service delivers more than 3,000 babies each year from the Croft Wing at the hospital.
The trust has successfully bid for £444,000 from a £25 million pool of national funding made available to upgrade maternity facilities across the NHS.
The funding means individual labour ward rooms will be made en-suite with their own toilet and showers. Currently there are shared bathrooms on the ward.
It will also create a new low-risk birthing suite for midwife-led care and a second birthing pool for mums requesting a water birth.
A new induction of labour bay will also be developed. This will enable a birthing partner to stay overnight with a mum-to-be, to support her through the early stages of induced labour.
Birth partners are currently unable to stay overnight due to lack of space and facilities. In addition, a new aromatherapy, reflexology and hypnotherapy-birthing suite will provide greater choice in birthing plans and there will be improvements to privacy for bereavement facilities.
The trust is planning to move the maternity service to the currently vacant Daresbury Wing from the weekend of February 1-2 while the upgrading work takes place over the next 10 weeks.
A Trust spokesman said: “It is ideal as a temporary home for the labour ward as it has single rooms and its own theatres for caesarean sections and other procedures. It’s also located next to the Croft Wing.”
Senior midwife Lisa Whittle, labour ward manager, said: “Being able to offer the extra facilities for all our women in labour will really help improve the privacy and dignity for the excellent service that we have here. It helps us to meet our pledge to improve the environment and birth options for local families.
“Because of the way that the funding is allocated, we need to carry out the work immediately, so we’re ready to move the ward to the Daresbury Wing from the start of February for two months. It’ll be the same staff and same excellent service – just in a different location. We will be able to get the work completed and move back to the Croft Wing by the end of March.”
The trust’s website www.warringtonandhaltonhospitals.nhs.uk has all the latest information on the new location.
Other women’s services in the Croft Wing and the neonatal unit won’t be affected by the move.
