A HEALTHCARE head has outlined ambitious new plans for the future of maternity care at the George Eliot Hospital.
Now that services have been saved from the axe in the controversial Arden Cluster review at the Nuneaton NHS Trust, its chief executive Kevin McGee contacted the Nuneaton News to speak out about the way forward.
This includes relocating the Maternity department to elsewhere on the Nuneaton site, at a yet-to-be decided location.
Although the building has seen better days in terms of a clinical care use, it will not be razed to the ground and will continue to house Anker Radio.
Plans are afoot to move some other departments involved in the administrative side of care into the building which dates back to the 1960s.
“We are developing plans to transfer the Maternity block into the main hospital, a small build on the side of the main hospital and move neo and maternity there,” explained Mr McGee, who has been in the top role for just over a year now.
“We don't know where it’s going to be just yet, but we are very fortunate as where we are there is lots of room for development.
“There are probably three or four places we could develop as the new Maternity block.”
The relocation project is expected to take around two years to sort out.
“We are not looking to knock the old Maternity block down but to take clinical services out of there,” added Mr McGee.
“It may be an appropriate block for all of the support services and administration and other things, just take the clinical services side out.”
The block is to have an interim revamp, while talks continue to its long-term future in another section of the Trust site.
The George Eliot Maternity block currently deals with approximately 2,500 births a year. Its Special Care Baby Unit, treats those who are born prematurely.
