6 April 2010
The final touches are being made to the £2.8 million refurbishment of the maternity unit at St Helier Hospital, and with the end of the work in site, the countdown to the official reopening of the department has begun.
Just over a year ago, the Trust announced the multi-million pound project to revamp the whole of the department - including a new operating theatre on the labour ward, a complete refurbishment of the neonatal unit (where sick and premature babies are treated), a revamp of the gynaecology ward, and the creation of a brand new ‘home-from-home’ birth centre.
And now, with the final licks of paint going on and the last touches being made to the entrance of the unit, the refurbishment should be completely finished by the end of the month.
The Trust’s Chief Executive, Samantha Jones, said: "The newly refurbished maternity unit is, without doubt, a department to be proud of. And I say that not only as a Chief Executive, but as a mother too - from the ground floor right up to the ceiling of the second floor, this unit offers our patients the very best of care in a fantastic environment.
"It has been a big job that has involved months of construction and a lot of hard work, but that work has really, truly paid off.
"I can’t stress just how important our maternity unit is. The people we see here are usually gearing up for the biggest and best day of their lives, so it’s vitally important that we can offer a first class level of care in a first class environment."
Because of the scale of the refurbishment, the work had to be split into three phases. The first phase, which cost £950,000, tackled the bigger pieces of work, such as building a high dependency unit for women who suffered complications during their pregnancy or labour.
Phase two saw the opening of a specially designed £180,000 birth centre, where women who have had no problems during pregnancy can give birth in a more relaxed environment. As well as being equipped with birth pools to help with pain relief, the centre has soft lighting and other more 'homely' touches.
Stage two of the project, which cost £983,000, also saw the creation of a second theatre for the maternity unit and a complete £200,000 refurbishment of the neonatal unit.
The final phase of the project saw more than £850,000 being spent on refurbishing the gynaecology ward and ante-natal clinics, with the refurbishment of the gynaecology ward costing £440,000 alone.
