Trio of Baronesses Assemble to Officially Re-Open Refurbished Birth Centre at Whittington Hospital

Three members of the House of Lords joined forces alongside staff and service users to re-open Whittington Health’s newly fully refurbished Midwife led Birth Centre. The refurbishments include the installation of new birthing pools which now feature fully customisable LED lighting allowing users to select the exact mood they want for their birth. 

The completion of the refurbishment works was marked on Friday with a re-opening event during which Baroness Cumberlege cut the ceremonial ribbon to declare the centre open. Baroness Julia Cumberlege has been a passionate and active advocate for improvements in maternity services across the country for many years. The National Maternity Review (date), which she chaired, set out a vision for services which are safer, more personalised, kinder and in which everyone has the information and tools they need to be  supported and enabled to choose the birth experience they want for them, their baby and their family and friends. A model adopted by Whittington Health’s birth centre.

 

The birth centre has seen a full refurbishment, with all of the en-suite rooms getting a new paint job in colours selected by service users, the installation of new furniture and new birth pools which feature multi-colour LED lighting, Bluetooth sound systems in each room and  new TV screens.

 

Baroness Cumberlege was joined at the event by Baroness Julia Neuberger who chair’s the Whittington Health NHS Trust Board and Baroness Glenys Thornton who also sits on the board and is the board’s maternity safety champion.

 

Speaking at the event, Baroness Cumberlege said: “When you step into a hospital you get a very quick sense of what sort of place it is, when I walked in today, I was overwhelmed by the feeling of love, care and compassion from the staff. I am delighted to reopen the birth centre today and to hear more about the hard work that the staff do to ensure that everyone who gives birth at Whittington Health can choose the birth experience they wish for.”

 

The Trust’s CEO, Helen Brown said: “Our birth centre is now a beautiful, even more inviting, and bright space for those who choose to have their baby with us. The Centre was one of the first of its kind to open in the UK and we have worked hard to keep it at the cutting edge, providing the very best, highest quality, safest and most tranquil experience we can. We are continuing to invest in ensuring that all our maternity estate is of the same high quality as the service our staff provide and have ambitious plans for a major redevelopment over the coming years.

 

The completion of the birth centre renovation had to be delivered whilst keeping the unit a calm, relaxing space that was safe and free of dust for those who gave birth there during this time.