Montrose unit options evaluated
November 16, 2008
A purpose-built maternity unit in the grounds of Montrose Royal Infirmary has come out top of the list of options for replacement of the existing facility when financial considerations are excluded.
A day long option appraisal event organised by NHS Tayside took place on Friday 14th November in Montrose, with thirty of those invited attending. The participants were split into four groups: clinical staff (midwives, a GP and an obstetrician); NHS managers and non-clinical staff; recent service users from Montrose, Brechin, Forfar and the Mearns; and lay representatives from maternity and the wider community.
A poster based on the findings of previous consultation with women by midwives and user representatives outlined what was important in the new unit; this included outside garden space and stairs. Participants were also able to view a slide presentation of photographs from other recently built birth centres. NHS Tayside's consultant midwife for normality explained what the service provides and what it achieves and finished off with the Montrose unit's video.
A representative from the Capital Planning department described the 6 options for consideration and showed photographs from the sites. The groups agreed the suggested 'non-financial benefit criteria' with modifications and gave each criterion a weighting to show how important it was to this particular project. Each group then rated the options in turn against the criteria.
At the end of the process, a new build on the ground at Montrose Royal Infirmary currently occupied by portakabins emerged as the preferred option. While extending the Links Health Centre did not fit the benefit criteria and 'Do nothing' was not seen as realistic, other options around the Links Health Centre came out well. A number of participants would have welcomed the opportunity to score the recently-withdrawn option of Stracathro Hospital to see how it compared but this was ruled out by NHS Tayside.
The results will go together with financial considerations in building up the full business case for the new unit. The next meeting of the Project Team is on 2nd December.
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