HRH The Princess Royal officially opened the new state-of-the-art Maternity theatres at Bradford Royal Infirmary’s Women’s and Newborn Unit today (Thurs, 6 July).
The Princess Royal visited the new facilities and met staff and mum Emily Gledhill, with her one-year-old little girl, Lottie, who was of one of the first babies born in the theatres.
She ended her tour by unveiling a plaque in the foyer of the unit in the presence of Chief Executive of Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Professor Mel Pickup, and members of the Maternity team and other guests.
Four-year-old Elsie, daughter of Midwife Rachael Gargon, presented a posy of flowers to The Princess Royal.
The £8 million theatres, which carry out planned and emergency caesareans and other complicated deliveries, were built during COVID when work never stopped, either for the builders or the Maternity team which continued to deliver babies, day in, day out.
Mel Pickup; Dr Nada Sabir, Clinical Director, Women’s Services; Jen Inglis, Labour Ward Co-ordinator and Obstetric Theatre Manager; and Amanda Hardaker, Lead Matron for Quality and Safety, accompanied The Princess Royal on the tour.
The Princess Royal also visited Maternity’s new enhanced maternal care (EMC) recovery rooms, where mums at high risk of complications can be closely monitored following delivery, which are adjacent to the new theatres.
During the visit The Princess Royal also had the opportunity to hear about the work being done by midwives, other members of the Maternity team and the Estates team, to enhance pregnancy and birth experiences.
Since the new theatres opened, 1,904 babies have been born in them, with mums being able to see their babies at all times thanks to the design and layout of the area.
Director of Midwifery at the Trust, Sara Hollins, said: “We’re incredibly proud that The Princess Royal chose to visit Bradford again, following her visit to our Birth Centre in 2016, to see how we’re progressing on our journey to provide outstanding maternity services to women and babies in the district.
“We value her ongoing support to maternity services and the midwifery profession, in her role as Patron of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM).
“As well as providing fantastic facilities, the theatres are a really good and positive thing as they represent life, birth, joy and new beginnings. Really importantly, it’s also a much better environment for women: it’s a softer clinical environment for them and their dignity is better protected. This is all about the woman’s journey and remembering that women are at the centre of everything we do.
“They also provide a whole new, better and more efficient way of working for the theatres team. The building of the new theatres and EMC recovery area has given them a new sense of ownership and pride, and being able to incorporate the changes needed from the women’s perspective has given the team a sense of achievement.”
