Vital Nottingham maternity service moves from 'cramped' space into new £1.4 million unit

Three scanning rooms with ultrasound are among the features of the new Queen's Medical Centre unit

A vital maternity service at the Queen's Medical Centre has moved out of its "cramped" space into a new £1.4 million facility. The fetal medicine unit provides consultant and midwife clinics, offering treatments to support families with complications affecting an unborn baby.

The Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) fetal medicine team also receive referrals from other hospitals across the East Midlands due to the specialist skill of the service. NUH has now announced the opening of a brand new unit for the service inside the Queen's Medical Centre.

Three scanning rooms with ultrasound, a treatment room, four consultation rooms and a dedicated waiting space are among the facilities of the unit. The service has outgrown the small space it currently occupies in the antenatal clinic.

Sharon Wallis, director of midwifery at NUH, said: "The fetal medicine department has developed over many years to become the service it is today which makes a difference to the lives of so many families. Until now, the fetal medicine team has worked out of the antenatal clinics at the QMC and City hospitals in cramped spaces which are no longer suitable for the needs of the service and the women and families in our care.

"The team have continued to provide excellent care in less-than-ideal environments. This location meant that there was a lack of privacy for families at some of the most difficult moments of their lives, and our staff were unable to deliver and develop the service to its full potential."

One of the women who has received treatment from the fetal medicine team is Liberty Richards, a teacher who contracted a virus whilst pregnant which led to her unborn baby developing severe anaemia and requiring a blood transfusion in the womb. The 24-year-old from Bingham said: "I think the new unit will make it easier for women and families who are not going through the nicest time, and having it separate also means that when you are in the waiting room there is some comfort in knowing we are not the only people on the planet going through this."