An Inverness community midwife team has celebrated their move to a new facility at New Craigs Hospital, after years of unsuitable locations.
The new home for the service is the Clava Building, a previously unused standalone ward located on the campus.
It has already welcomed many patients with operations running smoothly. The team consists of 15 midwives, one administrator, an infant feeding group and other support workers.
The new facility provides more space because previously, when based at Raigmore Hospital, the team was confined to a single small room.
For the last three years, the team had to travel daily to Culloden Dental Clinic to access just two clinical rooms for more than 800 patients per year.
Patients were also forced to travel to Culloden regardless of where they lived.
When patients arrived, there was nowhere for them to wait until their appointment as a waiting room was against Covid restrictions.
‘Long-awaited move to Clava has given us just what we needed’
The Clava building at New Craigs boasts four clinical rooms and a NearMe room for video consultations.
It also has a large and welcoming waiting room, a contrast from the previous site at Culloden.
Each midwife also has their own phone, making communication with patients and the rest of the team much easier.
Carole Murphy, lead midwife, said: “We are all really excited; the long-awaited move to Clava has given us just what we needed and more.
“The team are settling well into the new accommodation, and we hope to start implementing other small changes in the very near future.
“We have so many ideas of how to improve the midwifery care we offer to Inverness women. Currently we are working towards running a robust antenatal education programme.”
Lin Borthwick, community midwife team leader, added: “Community midwives are doing a fantastic job, and the women of the Inverness community are so happy with the new base.”
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