Important information about building work to create our new maternity floor at CRH
From Monday, 25th May, the Maternity Department at Calderdale Royal Hospital will be getting ready for building work to start on our brand-new maternity floor.
We are bringing all our maternity services into one dedicated area of the hospital. Once complete, we will have two new dedicated theatres, neonatal and antenatal care, the labour ward and birth centre, all located in the same area of the hospital, improving quality of care and experience for women and families.
All our maternity services are open and running as usual during the work.
Building work will be carried out Monday to Friday, 7.30am to 5pm. There is likely to be noise from this work.
Your privacy, dignity and experience are important to us and our maternity team are here to support you. If there is anything we can do to make you more comfortable while this work is happening, please speak to your midwife.
If you are coming to the Maternity Department from our Birth Centre, you will need to use Lift Block 2 and follow the signage. Otherwise, you can still reach us on the first floor from the Women’s and Children’s entrance.
We expect the work to take around nine months.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Frequently asked questions
Can I bring anything with me during labour to help with the noise?
Yes. We want to make sure all women and families have a positive experience where possible. We encourage you to speak to your midwife if there is anything we can do to help support you while this work is happening.
Will anyone working on the building be able to see into the Labour Ward?
No. Privacy and dignity is our absolute priority and at no time will contractors have access or be able to see into the Labour Ward, Neonatal or other areas of the department.
Who can I discuss my birth choice preferences with?
We will support your choice in where you can give birth. If you would like to discuss an alternative option, please speak to your midwife.
Why are you moving the Birth Centre into the Maternity Department?
The Birth Centre will continue to be midwife-led with its own secure access, located next to our Labour Ward, Maternity Assessment Centre, and other maternity services.
It also supports choice by enabling women to stay within the Birth Centre wherever possible as we can get quick assistance from the main Labour Ward.
In the event of an emergency in the Birth Centre, it makes it quicker to give you the right care, by transferring you to the Labour Ward and Theatres if it is required.
Why do you need two theatres in Maternity?
The CQC recommend that for a maternity unit the size of ours we should have access to two dedicated obstetric theatres. Currently we have one dedicated obstetric theatre in the vicinity of labour ward and the second theatre is accessed in the main theatre suite on the third floor.
Having two bespoke theatres in the footprint of the labour ward will improve experience by protecting privacy and dignity and reduce unnecessary transfers through a hospital, which currently may result in a delay whilst awaiting lift access.
Why are you creating a bereavement suite?
During our Maternity Services CQC inspection in 2023 we received a rating of Good but a recommendation was made to review our bereavement facilities to support delivery of the National Bereavement Care Pathway.
Our bereaved families are cared for on labour ward in a designated room that has no windows. Our feedback from families is that they would like to have a window and / or outdoor space. Our teams want to ensure they offer the best service possible and have identified an opportunity to improve these facilities by relocating the Antenatal Day Unit and creating a bespoke bereavement suite.
CHFT Charity are currently running a significant fundraising appeal for the new suite. People can find out more on the CHFT Charity website: Maternity Bereavement Appeal - CHFT Charity