New maternity beds for Wolverhampton's New Cross as site takes on Staffordshire mothers
Twenty-four new maternity beds are opening at Wolverhampton's New Cross Hospital as the site starts to take mothers-to-be from Staffordshire.
Two new delivery rooms are also being unveiled later this month, while there will be four extra cots on the special care baby unit.
The expansion is needed to cope with an influx of patients who would usually have gone to the County Hospital in Stafford, and are now giving birth at New Cross or Royal Stoke University Hospital.
The move comes as a result of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust being dissolved.
Of the 24 beds, 10 will be in a new special area for women who have been induced to bring on labour.
The rest will be for women whose babies need to stay in hospital for treatment for a few days after they are born.
County Hospital, formerly Stafford Hospital, will now be midwife-led, with consultant-led services for medium to high-risk births moving to Wolverhampton or Stoke.
The New Cross community at-home service now takes in South Staffordshire to cater for expectant mothers nearer Stafford. Perton, Cannock, Codsall, Wombourne, Seisdon, Rugeley and Penkridge are now covered by New Cross staff for home and antenatal visits.
Stoke has taken over other areas, with former Mid Staffs services split between there and New Cross.
Women at New Cross who have been induced and are judged to be a low risk currently stay on the maternity ward while they wait for labour to start, while higher risk women have beds in the maternity triage unit.
Bosses say the new system will make the process more relaxing and comfortable for them, while freeing up beds.
The new unit will be on the third floor, near to the delivery suite, and is expected to open later this month.
Tracy Palmer, assistant head of midwifery at New Cross, said: "It will create a nicer environment for women who have been induced as that can be a tense and worrying time, and it means they will be surrounded by women in the same situation rather than hearing crying babies and being in a busy area.
"It will also help us cope with the extra demand now we are getting ladies from Stafford."
The 14 beds for mothers whose babies need extra care, such as intravenous antibiotics or tube feeding, means an end to the situation where beds on the maternity wards are taken by mothers who do not need treatment themselves.
