The cord has been cut on a new £5.5 million state-of-the-art maternity theatre at Tameside Hospital.
An official opening ceremony for the unit took place on Wednesday July 23, which will have capacity for between eight and ten elective caesarean sections each week on top of operations for emergency deliveries.
It also means that for the first time at the hospital, both types of c-section will be available in the same building, cutting delays and the risk of complications.
Tameside and Glossop NHS’s CEO, Karen James OBE, said of the six-month build: “At Tameside Hospital, we know that every birth is special.
“Our new maternity theatre has been designed to support these special moments, adding valuable additional operating capacity and prioritising safety, comfort and dignity.
“This huge milestone is thanks to extraordinary collaboration and a shared commitment to improving our maternity services.
“I’m pleased that our staff and our community can now benefit from this new facility.”
One member of the community is Hollyoaks stalwart Kirsty-Leigh Potter, who was involved in the ribbon cutting for the operating theatre.
The award-winning actor previously raised money for the hospital’s Harebell Suite – a space for bereaved parents – after the stillbirth of her daughter Penny-Leigh in 2019.
The family returned to Tameside the following year in happier circumstances for the birth of Kirsty-Leigh’s second daughter, Nala Rai.
The lead of the new maternity theatre, Adam Roberts, said: “This has been a challenging but hugely rewarding project, and we couldn’t have done it without the entire team working together seamlessly.
“I would especially like to thank our construction partners, ModuleCo, for their incredible work in bringing the new development to life.”
