Mums are happy to give birth in Bolton (From This Is Lancashire)

Mums are happy to give birth in Bolton

9:01am Monday 11th March 2013 in News

HUNDREDS of mums from Bury have chosen to give birth at the Royal Bolton Hospital since Fairfield General Hospital’s maternity unit closed last year.

Figures have revealed that 40 per cent of mums who would have otherwise gone to Fairfield to have their babies, have given birth at Bolton’s flagship maternity unit.

The other 60 per cent have given birth at North Manchester General Hospital.

Between April 1, 2012, and February 28, 2013, there were 844 babies born at the Royal Bolton Hospital to mothers from Bury.

The hospital said the proportion of women choosing Bolton to have their babies was “more or less expected”.

Fairfield maternity unit closed in March last year as part of a scheme called “Making it Better”, a review into maternity services in the area.

Under the review, both the maternity units at the Royal Bolton Hospital and North Manchester General Hospital were expanded and turned in to “supercentres” and several smaller units at other hospitals, including Fairfield, were closed.

Bolton’s maternity unit had a £20 million investment to improve services on offer.

The changes also included the transfer of some Bury staff to Bolton and North Manchester.

Bolton’s head of midwifery, Sue Anderton, said: “Our first year has been very successful.

“The Bury staff who transferred have been a great addition and are now very much part of the team.

“It has been particularly good to know that so many Bury mums have chosen to come here to have their baby.” Eileen Stringer, head of midwifery for Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which includes Fairfield and North Manchester, said the trust had received “good, positive feedback from women in the Bury area”.

She added: “We have been working with our colleagues in Bolton to ensure that women from Bury receive a streamlined and consistent service, regardless of where they choose to deliver their baby.

“We believe that the service changes made under the Making It Better programme in the Greater Manchester area have improved the way we deliver maternity services to women and children.

“Early indications would show that women are happy with the level of care they receive.”