Baby super-centre a step closer

7:17pm Monday 24th March 2008

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MULTI million pound plans to transform the Royal Bolton Hospital into a maternity super-centre have moved a step closer.

Hospital chiefs have submitted plans to Bolton Council to extend the delivery suite at the Princess Anne maternity unit, increase the number of intensive care neonatal cots from three to 15 and extend the surgical rooms.

There will also be a new community midwives office and an antenatal day unit.

If the plans are approved, the work will be carried out in stages to ensure there is the minimum disruption.

Work is expected to begin on the delivery suite in August and centre should be fully open by March 2011.

The extension will cost £2 million and takes the hospital one step closer to becoming one of three neonatal, baby and children's super-centres in Greater Manchester, East Cheshire and High Peak in Derbyshire.

Gail Naylor, head of midwifery at the Royal Bolton Hospital, said: "We have been working on building plans for some time for all of our schemes in maternity, neonatal and paediatrics.

"This is moving us on to the next stage in the refurbishment and extension of our delivery suite as it will need to be a lot bigger to deal with all the additional activity."

As many as 6,000 babies could be born every year at the new centre, up from around 4,300 at the moment.