New birthing unit 'to open by summer'

A NEW maternity unit which has been subjected to several delays will be open by the summer, health chiefs have vowed.

The birthing unit at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary was supposed to help midwives cope with soaring birth rates in the Lothians, with almost 10,000 a year now being born.

Conditions in the present facility are cramped, but NHS Lothian's PFI partner Consort - which owns the ERI and needs to sign off all projects - had been accused of holding up the scheme thanks to its "bureaucratic" procedures.

However, work has now begun on the structure, which will be pre-built elsewhere and moved to Little France, and should open in August.

Chief midwife Maria Wilson said: "Our new birth centre will provide a homely environment with all the advantages and reassurance of medical expertise nearby."