Building to commence on new £5.7m midwifery unit at Antrim Hospital

A three-suite facility is planned within a new two-storey building at the front of the hospital.

The Northern Health and Social Care Trust board, which met at Antrim Hospital, on Thursday, was told the cost of the building project has risen from £5.25m due to “an inflationary rise”. The overall cost is to be met by the Department of Health.

Members were informed that the building work is expected to be completed by February 2026.

Trust board chair Anne O’Reilly said: “This is a really good news story and fits with the vision we have for our maternity services. It is an important project for our Trust and another example of how we remain committed to improving experience and outcomes for our patients.

“I’m pleased that this unit will allow women to have more choice around their maternity care pathways and create equity across the entire region.”

The unit will create three additional birthing suites, separate to the main maternity ward but women will continue to have access to the on-site obstetric and consultant-led services, if needed. The unit will have its own separate entrance.

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It is expected to be provided for women with pregnancies classed as “low risk”, without any additional medical complications. It is expected to be used by two to three patients per day, plus their accompanying birthing partner.

Suzanne Pullins, executive director of nursing, paediatrics and women’s services, said: “Unlike the four other HSC Trusts in the region, the Northern Trust has no midwifery-led unit currently, so this is a really welcome step closer to delivering improved experiences for women in our community.”

The development of a three-suite unit at Antrim was a commitment made to the Northern Trust by the Permanent Secretary Peter May when he approved the recommendation of the Trust board to consolidate all hospital births at Antrim Area Hospital.

A reconfiguration of maternity services, which came into effect in July 2023, saw all hospital births within the Northern Trust area move to Antrim Hospital and an end to births at Causeway Hospital, Coleraine. Causeway Hospital continues to provide both antenatal and postnatal care, as well as enhanced pregnancy clinics.

Michelle Weir, Local Democracy Reporter