The newly refurbished and expanded Maternity Assessment Centre (MAC) at Bradford Royal Infirmary has opened its doors to its first patients.
The centre is a triage service – Maternity’s equivalent to the hospital’s Emergency Department – for anyone who is pregnant from 16 weeks plus.
The renovated facility contributes to Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s goal of providing outstanding maternity services.
It includes a four-bedded bay for women who attend to be seen and assessed, two single-bed bays, a triage side room and a side room with en-suite facilities. With two further single-bed bays planned for 2025.
Women are looked after at the unit by midwives and healthcare assistants who are supported by a team of obstetricians – specialist doctors who care for woman during pregnancy, labour and after birth.
It is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and receives more than 6,000 calls and sees around 1,300 patients every month.
The new, improved facilities also include a new reception and spacious waiting area.
Construction company Morgan Sindall carried out the refurbishment, with the space being stripped back to a bare shell before being rebuilt from scratch.
Outstanding Maternity Services (OMS) Programme Midwifery Lead, Alison Powell, said:
We have worked in partnership with service users, staff, and stakeholders to design our new MAC as part of the OMS Building Fit for the Future workstream. I am delighted that we have achieved our ambition to significantly improve the care and work environment for service users and staff.
Maternity Assessment Centre and Antenatal Day Unit Manager, Midwife Nicole Wood, said:
Our newly re-designed MAC will better serve women and babies from across Bradford.
It is miles ahead of our last unit because it is so bright, airy and woman-centred. The waiting room is large, and we don’t have to share it with other maternity clinics – basically the new MAC is everything that we wanted and more. It also feels much calmer for our patients.
Maternity and Neonatal Partnership Lead for Bradford, Nasrin Ali, said:
The new MAC is ‘wicked’ – so beautiful, light, and airy. The layout provides a seamless journey through assessment and care. It provides privacy and dignity in a calm and relaxed environment for women and families.
The new MAC is ideally situated, directly opposite the labour ward entrance and close to the birth centre and obstetric operating theatres.
Other improvement works are also under way at the Maternity Unit and be completed in late 2025.