It has been another interesting and varied week at Liverpool Women’s Hospital. The Liverpool Echo published an article earlier this week featuring our £10 million investment into our maternity facilities. This investment has ensured that Liverpool Women’s continues to lead the way in the quality of maternity care we provide. We have carefully planned this major investment over several years. This is an investment in our future, enabling us to continue to be at the forefront of women’s healthcare in the United Kingdom and beyond. On Saturday 7th September 2013 we will be holding a special birthday party to celebrate 18 years of being on the Crown Street site. If you are interested in taking a tour of the new facilities do come and join us on this day and celebrate our 18th birthday.
The work of our amazing staff on our Neonatal Unit and our Maternity Unit featured in both local and national newspapers and TV last week. Baby Lucas was born on 29 April 2013 only 23 weeks into mum Tracy’s pregnancy. This gave the tiny 1lb 8oz little boy just a 25% chance of survival. Tracy developed the very rare condition placenta abrupta, which causes life threatening haemorrhage and shock and is so rare it happens to less than 1% of pregnant women. While Lucas fought for life on our Neonatal Unit, his mother was being cared for on our High Dependency Unit. The proud parents finally took Lucas home four days before his due date of August 16 weighing a much healthier 5lb 3oz. everybody at Liverpool Women’s is delighted that both Tracy and Lucas are now at home. It is stories such as this that make me so proud to be the Chief Executive of such an amazing hospital.
I have met with a number of our consultants over the past week. Professor Jim Neilson who is a renowned Obstetrician, and has worked at Liverpool Women’s for many years. Dr Clint Chevannes, Consultant Anaesthetist, who has been a consultant here for about a year. Dr Lynn Greenhalgh, Clinical Director and Consultant Clinical Geneticist. Dr Mark Turner, Director of Research and Development and one of our leading Consultant Neonatologists and last but certainly not least, the one and only Professor Charles Kingsland, Clinical Director and Consultant in Reproductive Medicine. It is really interesting to hear and debate with our consultants the views, opinions, visions and challenges that we perceive. Having such passionate and interesting colleagues to debate issues with certainly keeps the brain cells working and ensures that no day is boring.
I would like to say a big thank you to some quite new friends of Liverpool Women’s, Vicky and Steve Greenall who unfortunately lost their precious daughter Mia Rose just over a year ago. They have been channelling their energies into raising money for our hospital as a thank you for the care she received on our neonatal unit. Please visit their website http://www.mias-memory.co.uk and if you can support their fundraising efforts it would be much appreciated. I have a feeling that Vicky and Steve will make their baby girl very proud of what they achieve in her memory. You two are amazing. Thank you so much for all you are doing, we really appreciate it.
A big thank you to all of our staff who will be working hard over the bank holiday weekend.