A NEW £5.5 million maternity theatre has been officially opened at Tameside Hospital.
The development started earlier this year and was completed last month.
Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the Ashton-based hospital, says it will add “valuable operating capacity” to enable between eight and 10 elective caesarean sections to be undertaken every week.
The theatre will also provide the opportunity to locate both elective and emergency caesarean sections in the same building, allowing easier access to other maternity unit services for new parents recovering from surgery.
Maternity services were still maintained while construction firm ModuleCo built the new theatre, where a ribbon-cutting ceremony took place on July 23.
Guests learned more about the new facilities from maternity unit staff, and explored an online interactive walk-through which took users on a 3D journey through the development.
Among those present was Hollyoaks star Kirsty-Leigh Porter, who was welcomed back by staff to cut the ribbon, having praised the love, care and dignity she and her partner received while going through a stillbirth.
In 2019, Kirsty’s family took part in the Manchester Run, in memory of her daughter Penny-Leigh, and raised money to improve the maternity unit’s Harebell Suite, which is a dedicated space for bereaved parents. Kirsty returned to the hospital the following year to welcome another daughter, Nala Rai, into the world.
The official opening was also attended by Mossley councillor Tafheen Sharif, who is Tameside Council’s Executive Member for Population Health and Wellbeing. The former Civic Mayor of Tameside gave birth to three of her children at the hospital.
Karen James OBE, the hospital trust’s Chief Executive, said: “At Tameside Hospital, we know that every birth is special. Our new maternity theatre has been designed to support these special moments, adding valuable additional operating capacity and prioritising safety, comfort and dignity.
“This huge milestone is thanks to extraordinary collaboration and a shared commitment to improving our maternity services. I’m pleased that our staff and our community can now benefit from this new facility.”
Adam Roberts, Head of Capital and lead for the new maternity theatre project, added: “This has been a challenging but hugely rewarding project, and we couldn’t have done it without the entire team working together seamlessly.
“I would especially like to thank our construction partners, ModuleCo, for their incredible work in bringing the new development to life.”