Midwives To Lead Downpatrick Birth Unit

An innovative approach to maternity care in Co Down has seen the announcement of a midwifery led maternity unit.

The facility - in Downpatrick - will be run by midwives without the help of doctors and will be the first of its kind in Northern Ireland.

It will open next autumn as part of the new £60 million Downe hospital. A similar unit is planned for Omagh.

South Down MP Eddie McGrady said locals have been campaigning for a Government commitment of this kind for more than 20 years.

"Since we lost our full maternity unit, I think there's has been a deficiency of care for mothers and mothers to be in the area.

"This is a great boost for our hospital which is developing and will secure the future for the community in Downpatrick," he said.

An obstetrician-led maternity hospital in Downpatrick closed in 2004.

The Health Minister Michael McGimpsey announced yesterday that the business case for the unit has been approved by the Department of Health.

He explained that the new unit will have ante-natal and post-natal services and will include three home-from-home birthing rooms.

Speaking during a visit to the site of the new £60m hospital, the Minister said: "This new Community Midwifery-Led Unit will play a key role in providing a full range of maternity services, which will offer mothers a greater choice about the type of care they receive.

"It will provide dedicated staff with a truly modern facility in which to carry out their crucial work.

"The midwifery-led home-from-home birthing rooms will enhance the options available to pregnant women, allowing them to give birth in a safe environment.

"It also demonstrates my commitment to providing responsive, accessible and high quality health and social care services across Northern Ireland," he said.

Commenting on the work carried out so far at the new Downe hospital, the Minister added: "People in Downpatrick, and indeed throughout the South Eastern Trust area, are set to benefit from the new, modern, state of the art facilities which will be provided in the new hospital.

"The hospital is just one of the many projects being taken forward as part of my Department's infrastructure development programme.

"I want to ensure that people in this area have access to safe, high quality services. The new Downe Hospital goes a considerable way towards meeting these objectives," the Minister concluded.

(BMcC)