Enter and view: Rossendale Birth Centre

Healthwatch Blackburn with Darwen undertook an announced enter and view visit to the Rossendale Birth Centre on 22 March 2024.  They spoke to 4 patients, 1 relative and 4 members of staff.

Rossendale Birth Centre is a very accessible unit in the centre of Rawtenstall which is predominantly used for midwife clinic appointments. Although the centre feels like a repurposed section of the main Health Centre rather than a dedicated Birth Centre, it is clean, and the waiting room and birth room are welcoming and bright with good information available for expectant parents and nice touches to the birth room to make it feel less clinical. 

The entrance to the Birth Centre could be better signposted from the carpark and the sign for the Centre is rather small which could be problematic for patients with visual impairment. 

The Centre appears underutilised for births with staff feeling that better promotion on social media and increased staffing would encourage more patients to have their birth at the centre. Blackburn Birth Centre has a dedicated Facebook page with a good following, similar for Rossendale might be a good way to promote the Centre to local residents. 

Patients’ feedback about care at the centre is positive and they felt that the midwives are friendly and supportive. 

Staff reported that they felt that appointments were not long enough with patients and that better communication with GPs would be beneficial to their roles, but a really strong sense of teamwork comes across in their responses which is a credit to the Trust. Staff also made the suggestion of weekend clinics at Rossendale to alleviate pressure in Burnley hospital. 

The only negative feedback about care from patients was experiences at Blackburn and Burnley hospitals and the lack of detail around appointments and notes on the Badger notes app. Some of these issues might be addressed easily by digital teams within the ICB.