The new Community Midwifery Unit at Caithness General Hospital, which cost £950,000, is set to open its door for the first time later this month.

The modern unit is situated in the former Queen Elizabeth wing of the hospital and has been totally refurbished, with its own entrance at the rear of the hospital.

With all the midwifery services now situated in the one area it means that mums attending for appointments will find things a lot easier and more comfortable, according to local staff. There will no longer be a need to visit outpatients for scanning as the new unit will have its own room for obstetric ultrasounds which will also allow the service to be extended throughout the week.

The project was started a towards the end of last year and was initially going to be done in two stages, but was carried out all in one go instead, explained lead midwife Laura Menzies.

"It will make a big difference," she said. "At the moment the midwifery services are spread out. Here the whole team will all be together – it will be like a hub. Everything is here, almost a one-stop shop with patient flow much better. It will be really good for us to have the sonographer here as well."

She hopes that more mums will have their babies in Wick, but pointed out that the criteria would not be changing, as the unit is not supported by an obstetrician, so only those accessed as low risk or uncomplicated pregnancies are able to have births locally.

Commenting on the feedback from some of the expectant mums, she said: "I think they are pretty excited. Some of them are asking if they will be able to deliver here. Sutherland mums have also been asking to come up."

Scottish Government funding of £800,000 for the project was topped up using NHS Highland capital to allow replacement of the roof in addition to the internal refurbishment of the building.

In the day case area of the unit the conservatory is now a welcoming seminar room, where once things get back to normal, the midwifery team will be able to run parent classes and other activities such as baby yoga.

A breastfeeding room will be available to all mums visiting the hospital as well those down the town needing a comfortable place to feed their babies.

The top end of the unit, where the new entrance and reception room are situated, is for the day-to-day clinical side of things. Toilets are situated in all the rooms, including the area where the scans are carried out.

Currently scans are done in the outpatients section of the hospital and only on certain days of the week, so the new system will not only make things much more private for parents but it will also increase the availability of scanning.

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Included in the unit are midwifery care assistant rooms, a base for the midwives, a staff shower room and rest area, as well as a consultation room where patients can either talk face-to-face with a consultant or via a video link.

The labour, delivery, postnatal and recovery (LDPR) room is equipped with a new birthing bath and has a connecting area for neonatal stabilisation where babies needing ongoing care would wait for the neonatal retrieval team. The local midwife team are able to link to a live feed with those in Raigmore for assistance.

There is also an overspill labour room complete with wet room and a quiet room for families if things do not go as planned. A separate entrance door will be used by those arriving in labour and for any ambulance transfers.

The midwifery team had input into the plans and chose the wood effect flooring which is used in the rooms throughout the unit. One of the big bonuses for the team will be having the use of piped pain relief for patients.

Artwork from children at the Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) at Noss Primary School will brighten up the walls of the unit and it is hoped that over time young children from different ELC providers throughout the county will get a chance to have their drawings put up at the new unit.

After Noss, those attending the ELC at the PPP in Wick will take a turn, followed later by early learners in Thurso.

The lead midwife said they were delighted to get the artwork from the children at Noss and it was great to have the community involved in the project.

Commenting on the new unit, CHAT secretary Maria Aitken said: "We are delighted – it is a really lovely unit. Our main aim is that more mums will be able to have babies there.

"We would like the majority of mums to give birth there and a small minority to go to Raigmore. At the moment only a small minority have their babies here."

She explained that at the Balfour Hospital in Orkney the midwives were supported by an obstetrician which meant more mums could have their babies there, including first time ones, and that is the model they would like to promote for Caithness.

"One hundred miles is too far for having to travel in an emergency," she stressed. "The Orkney model works well and it would ensure mums could give birth here."

The final checks are being made on the unit and it is hoped that it will be ready for use in the next two to three weeks.

The local team are currently having a recruitment drive to try and get more young people interested in midwifery. Presently they have around eight midwives and some have done videos to try and encourage people. The theory will be done online with placements available for 10 students in the Highlands.

At the moment the midwifery team are squashed in the former occupational area of the hospital after being moved from the wing on the top floor when the specialised rooms were needed at the beginning of the pandemic.