Maternity Unit
Maternity Unit
Level 4
Torbay Hospital
Lowes Bridge
Torquay TQ2 7AA
For all urgent concerns or questions please call the maternity triage phone on 01803 656588.
Special Care Baby Unit: 01803 654602
If you are newly pregnant, we ask that you please complete our maternity services self-referral form.
We are passionate about the quality of care we provide and our woman-focused approach looks at your needs throughout each and every stage of your pregnancy. We provide maternity services at Torbay Hospital and the Whitelake Unit at Newton Abbot Hospital and in the community, supporting around 2000 women a year who give birth with us. You can choose to plan to give birth at either one of our hospitals or at home.
We aim to provide the best possible experience for mothers, babies and families, and are truly delighted that so many women not only choose to return to us for second and subsequent births, but also recommend us to family and friends.
The majority of women experience uncomplicated pregnancies and birth journeys and we have a full range of options for maternity care. As well as our fantastic midwifery-led care we also provide an excellent obstetric model of care to include specialist support for more complex pregnancies and health conditions. We are very proud of our teamwork ethic, where staff work together to plan and deliver one-to-one care tailored to the needs of individual women.
Safe in our hands
Our high quality, evidenced based, safe and nurturing care is provided by a team of dedicated healthcare professionals who centre the service around your individual needs, in line with our Trust Values. In collaboration with our Devon partners, and as part of our maternity transformation plans to implement the NHS five year vision, Better Births, we are working hard to ensure you have continuity from your care providers with good access to information that will enable you to make your own decisions about the care that is right for your own needs and circumstances.
About our team
Our maternity team includes obstetricians, paediatricians, midwives, obstetric nurses and healthcare assistants and several clerical staff, all of whom endeavour to work together to create a positive experience for all women who choose to deliver with us.
Midwives
Midwives provide care at all stages of your pregnancy, birth and postnatal period. Our midwives work in different teams at our hospitals and in the community to provide tailored and individualised care according to your needs.
Whenever possible you will see the same team of midwives to help develop trusting relationships with our teams throughout your journey with us.
Some women will need specialist input at different points during their pregnancy and we provide a variety of services for women across our sites including:
- diabetes
- medical conditions
- birth after a previous caesarean
- support for young women
- baby in breech position (bottom down)
- advice about birth choices
Obstetric doctors
You may have appointments with obstetric doctors at different stages of your pregnancy:
- Antenatal clinics: We have several general clinics each week for women who need a doctor’s input during their pregnancy.
- Specialised clinics: Some women have particular needs during their pregnancy and we run special clinics to have provide this additional, tailored support from pre-pregnancy right through to postnatal. To help women and babies to have the best possible outcome we ensure that care is centred around the mother, including decision-making and choices.
- Labour ward: There is always a team of doctors and midwives working on our labour wards and women with more complicated pregnancies have their own individualised birth management plans to ensure everyone knows what care is required in labour.
- Whitelake Unit: The midwife will meet you at the unit when you are in labour. We do not have doctors on call here. Whitelake is a popular venue for antenatal and postnatal care. The same philosophy of high quality, one-to-one care applies in our community venue as well as the delivery suite at Torbay.
Tour of the Whitelake midwifery-led unit at Newton Abbot Hospital
Pathways of care and your pregnancy
Once you have referred yourself to receive care from us we will inform you of your first appointment within two weeks. In the majority of cases women receive care from their midwives and GP. Should there be any complications or need for advice, care is also received from an obstetrician.
Where will my care be based?
Depending on where you live and any complications you may have, care is either based in your local community, such as in a children’s centre or GP surgery, or at the hospital site itself.
Birth choices
Our maternity services are proud to support you and your family to plan care that is individual to you while taking into account what is most important to you. We support your decision-making with robust, evidenced-based recommendations to help keep you and your baby as safe as possible.
Who will be involved in my care?
| Team/Midwifery Group Practice | Base | Tel |
|---|---|---|
| Harbourside | Woman’s Health Unit, Torbay Hospital, Torquay TQ2 7AA | 01803 655771 |
| Mulberry | Woman’s Health Unit, Torbay Hospital, Torquay TQ2 7AA | 01803 655771 |
| Waterside Midwifery Team | Paignton Health and Wellbeing Centre, Paignton TQ3 3AG | 01803 655771 |
| Riverside Midwifery Team | Totnes Community Hospital, Totnes TQ9 5GH | 01803 655771 |
| Templer Midwifery Team | Teignmouth Community Hospital, Teignmouth TQ14 9BG | 01803 655771 |
| Torview Midwifery Team | Newton Abbot Community Hospital, Newton Abbot TQ12 2TS | 01803 655771 |
Meridian Team Midwives are based in the Maternity Unit. They provide continuing midwifery care for you should you need extra care. They are also available should your midwives not be or if you live in Kingsbridge, Ivybridge or Salcombe.
Safeguarding
From time to time it may be necessary for our maternity team to enlist the support and advice of local social service teams. We will do this in order to ensure the safety and wellbeing of mothers and their unborn or newborn babies. Usually these referrals are made with the full consent and cooperation of women and their families.
Safeguarding is a way of protecting people from harm, abuse and neglect. As with all of the health services we provide, your welfare and that of your baby is our highest priority. We will do all that we can to make sure that you both receive the support, compassion and care that you need.
Your pregnancy and birth
We know that pregnancy can be an exciting but daunting time for women and their partners. There are many choices to make and questions to answer and we want you and your family have the best possible experience at this special time.
Support videos
We have produced a number of support videos, which you can view in our video library.