THE Royal Bolton Hospital is at the centre of a new project which will help the UK and China improve their healthcare by learning from each other.

The hospital will provide a learning base for nursing and midwifery students from both the University of Salford and Guangdong Food and Drug Vocational College in Guangzhou, China, and house exchanges for staff and students to learn from each country's methods.

Delegates from the college came to visit Bolton's maternity ward, where they met University of Salford professors and hospital staff, to commemorate the joint venture, which is due to start within the next two years.

Speaking through translator professor Yaujim Yip, Xintong Cheng, one of the visiting delegates, said: "China is improving its healthcare and we want to learn from the west.

"At the moment we are a polytechnic college but will soon become a university.

"We would like our degrees to match so that someone could work in one country and transfer to another and language to be good in both countries.

"It is a very exciting project."

Catherine Owens, a consultant midwife at Royal Bolton Hospital, says that both countries have a similar way of working, although home care practice is different.

She said: "In China there is not as much emphasis on home care.

"People give birth more in hospitals than at home over there, whereas we encourage the mother to do what is best for her, and support her in giving birth at home if she wants to."

The collaboration has been developed in the last 18 months and aims to grow global health awareness and link maternity services across the world.

Dr Nancy-Jane Smith, associate head of international schooling at the university, said: "We have good links with Royal Bolton's maternity unit and wanted to show the choices on offer in Bolton for mums-to-be, such as the birthing pool and home births.

"It is all about putting the woman at the centre of care.

"This is a very exciting opportunity for us to share our systems of working and offer exchange opportunities for undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as staff, to better understand each country's way of working.

"We are looking to take forward and develop a sharing of ideas and build important international links.

"Learning about clinical practice is very important and the visit has been valuable as part of the preparation."