A warm welcome to the Lister Diamond Jubilee Maternity Unit
Our aim is to assist you to have a safe pregnancy and a healthy, happy baby and positive birth experience at our maternity unit, which oversees the birth of more than 5,500 babies every year.
We hope that your time in our care will be as happy and as comfortable as possible and we look forward to welcoming you to the Lister Diamond Jubilee Maternity Unit.
The unit opened in October 2011 and then formally by Queen Elizabeth II, as part of her Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012.
Click here to view our full range of Maternity Services
Measles
Measles is on the rise nationally. If you think you have signs/symptoms, please do not attend your appointment. You must call ahead. For more information, visit: www.nhs.uk/conditions/measles.
Update on induction of labour medications
We would like to make you aware of a temporary national shortage of a medication called Dinoprostone (also known as Prostin), which is commonly used as part of induction of labour. This shortage is expected to continue until September 2026.
Dinoprostone is used by our midwives to prepare the cervix for labour induction in pregnant women at or near term. It helps to thin and open/dilate the cervix, inducing contractions to begin labour.
Please be reassured that this medication shortage will not affect the safety of your care or the delivery and health of your baby.
If you are offered an induction of labour, your midwife will discuss safe and well-established alternatives that are routinely used in maternity care to create a personalised plan with you. This may include options such as a balloon catheter, Propess, or a combination of these induction methods, depending on what is most appropriate for you and your baby.
Your midwife or doctor will talk you through your options and answer any questions you may have, so you can feel informed and supported in your care.
If you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to speak to your midwife or the ward matron.
There have been reports in the media about some NHS trusts suspending the use of Entonox due to concerns about how levels of waste gas might affect staff and service users.
Entonox is a mixture of nitrous oxide and air. Known more commonly as gas and air, it can be used as pain relief for women in labour.
In order to ease any concerns our women and birthing people may have, we have conducted tests to monitor the Entonox levels within our services at The Diamond Jubilee Lister Maternity Unit.
We are pleased to share the positive findings of our recent report into safe Entonox levels (gas and air) within our services at The Diamond Jubilee Maternity Unit at Lister Hospital.
Our Trust’s ventilation systems, as well as all Entonox outlets have been rigorously tested and found to be safe.
The monitored levels are significantly lower than the Workplace Exposure Limit (WEL) of 100ppm. The highest recorded reading for an 8-hour time-weighted average working period was just 0.81ppm.
We take the safety of our staff and patients very seriously, and we will continue to monitor these levels.
Visiting guidance
When in active labour:
Two nominated birth partners are able to accompany you at the same time in birth rooms on our consultant-led unit (CLU) and midwife-led unit (MLU) at Lister Hospital’s Diamond Jubilee Maternity Unit. During a homebirth, you can choose who is present in your home.
During an elective caesarean section?
One nominated birth partner is able to accompany you from admission, and can remain with you during theatre and through your recovery, and transfer to the postnatal ward.
Neonatal unit visiting:
Parents of the child/children, as well as siblings, can attend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Two additional visitors can visit babies staying in our neonatal unit between 2-6pm, 7 days a week.
Ultrasound scan (USS)
One nominated person can attend all scans with you at any of our hospitals. We ask that you do not bring children to these appointments but if there are any barriers to this, please speak to a member of staff so we can support you.
Antenatal (before birth) and postnatal (after birth) ward visiting:
Antenatal appointments
One nominated support partner can attend antenatal appointments with you in our hospitals or community. They can also attend Day assessment unit and maternity triage with you and wait with you in the designated area as well as being present for your review.
Maternity triage
If you are attending maternity triage, please follow signage to our Lister Diamond Jubilee Maternity Unit – located in the Pink Zone.
A new entrance – specifically for maternity triage – has since opened. This is opposite the disabled parking bays toward the front of the Maternity Unit when facing the car park. The entrance is clearly signposted “Triage Entrance”.
If you are unsure where you are heading, please speak to your community midwife upon referral to maternity triage, or our reception staff if visiting between 9am-5pm.
Additional visiting (siblings, grandparents)
Two visitors (in addition to the nominated birth partner) can visit between 3-9pm. We are asking visitors to be mindful of mealtimes when planning their visit – this is 5-6pm for Dacre and Gloucester wards.
Extended overnight visiting for birthing partners/nominated support people:
Following a successful trial which welcomed birthing partners/nominated support people overnight on both Dacre and Gloucester wards, we are pleased to share that this new visiting guidance will continue for the foreseeable future while the maternity unit evaluate feedback from service users and our staff.
We will continue to work with the Lister Maternity Neonatal Partnership (MNVP) to ensure we listen to feedback and continue to make improvements to our services.
Please respect the following guidelines to keep everyone in the area safe and comfortable. Please remember to be kind, respectful and courteous to all staff and other families. If you choose to stay please adhere to these guidelines or you will be asked to leave.
Stay to help, go home to rest:
Whilst we encourage support partners to make use of the extended visiting hours, we recommend partners go home to sleep and rest, but should you choose to stay to support throughout night, we welcome you to do so.
The new guidance for designated support partners:
- Support partners must be over 18 years old
- Not use the showers – these are for service users only
- Speak quietly and mute gadgets
- Be aware there are no refreshments available for support partners – however there are vending machines available on the ground floor of the maternity unit
- Respect the privacy of other patients and remain
- Only use the armchairs provided – partners should not use beds
- Stay fully dressed at all times
Additional visitors must:
- Only attend between the hours of 3-9pm
- Ensure there are only 2 guests at the bedside
- Remain in the designated space with the woman or birthing person in our care for the duration of their care
- Only use the designated toilets provided
Please be aware, refreshments will not be available on the ward.
Feedback
We have had positive feedback from mothers using the services, including from one mother:
“From the moment I was admitted until the time that my baby and I were discharged, the staff at Lister hospital were absolutely amazing. The midwives that assisted me in particular were wonderful, professional and extremely supportive.”
If you would like to give birth at the Diamond Jubilee Maternity Unit or would like some help to choose where to give birth, take a look at our virtual tour. You can also book directly with us by using the online self-referral booking form.
If you wish to provide feedback, please contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (details can be found on the maternity contacts page of this website) or the Lister Maternity Voices Partnership.
If you have any individual questions regarding your care, please speak with your midwife or maternity team.
Care Quality Commission (CQC)
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published its report into maternity services at Lister Hospital, following an inspection in October 2022 – and has downgraded the service to Inadequate.
More information, including a statement from our chief executive can be found via the Trust website. In addition to this, we have also prepared a range of frequently asked questions (FAQs) to reassure women, birthing people and their families using our maternity services.
The Ockenden review
We understand that you may have concerns following the publication of the review of hospital services at Shrewsbury and Telford (known as the Ockenden review). However, please be assured we are committed to providing safe birthing services, regardless of where you birth your baby.
Our Trust is part of the Hertfordshire and West Essex Local Maternity and Neonatal System which continues to review, improve and expand on current services and practices.
We continue to review activity levels daily to ensure safe staffing levels, as the safety of you and your baby remains our top priority.
Our chief nurse, director of maternity and a representative from the Lister Maternity Voices Partnership have been speaking about what this means in the YouTube video below.
Maternity and perinatal audit
The Trust is taking part in the National Maternity and Perinatal Audit (NMPA). The aim of the NMPA is to study how mothers and babies are cared for in maternity units across England, Scotland and Wales. It will make it easier for units to monitor the care they provide. The audit will include information about all mothers who have a baby after 1 April 2014.
Visit www.maternityaudit.org.uk for more information.
National safety thermometer audit programme
The hospital and community midwifery teams participate in the national safety thermometer audit programme. This is a snapshot audit carried out on one day each month looking at harms within maternity care. This data helps us to continually review and improve our services. Click here to view our maternity safety thermometer data.
Lister Maternity Voices Partnership
The Lister Maternity Voices Partnership group listen to, and seek out the voices of women, families and carers using our maternity services, enabling people from diverse communities to have a voice. The group comprise of service users, hospital staff, commissioning groups, GPs and volunteers and hold regular meetings locally.
