New maternity unit prepares to deliver first babies

A new maternity unit in Dorset is gearing up to deliver its first babies when it opens at the end of the month.

The new £91m BEACH building at Royal Bournemouth Hospital will house a maternity unit, children's unit and emergency department.

From Monday 31 March, anyone requiring maternity care should go to the new building.

St Mary's Maternity Unit in Poole, which has been operating for more than 60 years, will close as part of the reorganisation.

The BEACH building will welcome its first families at the end of March

Head of midwifery Kerry Taylor said: "It's incredibly exciting. We're on countdown now and we can't wait.

"The site at St Mary's is incredibly old and our estates team have worked incredibly well to keep the building running but it's not really fit for purpose so the opportunity to move here to a brand new, beautifully designed, spacious maternity unit and neo-natal unit is a real treat.

"The space is ginormous, so we will be able to let partners stay, which we hadn't been able to facilitate.

"Here, everybody will be able to have a support person to stay with them."

Dr Isabel Smith said staff were going through "complex checklists" in preparation

Consultant anaesthetist and medical director for the service reconfiguration, Dr Isabel Smith, said: "When I came here in 2006, I was shown plans for a new obstetric hospital at Poole and that never came to fruition so this feels like it's been a long time coming.

"There is a real excitement around it.

"We are going through a really complex series of checklists and making sure we have everything in place from our workforce, our teams, staffing of the rotas, orientation and training, all our equipment is here and we are practising some of our emergency scenarios.

"I'm really looking forward to working in this environment and just doing a shift in the first week and everything going well, seeing everyone smiling."