Celebrating 40 Years of the Women’s Health Unit
We’re celebrating a very special birthday this year – 40 years of our Women’s Health Unit.
While many people associate maternity services with birth, our Women’s Health Unit provides so much more, including specialist antenatal and postnatal care, support for families experiencing loss and bereavement, care for gynaecological conditions, urogynaecology services, emergency and inpatient gynaecology care.
Opened in 1985 by Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, the unit’s teams have spent four decades providing compassionate, expert care families across our community. In that time, our incredible teams have achieved some amazing things, including :
- Supporting an estimated 64,000 to 88,000 births
- Winning multiple awards for outstanding care
- Helping hundreds of mothers and partners to quit smoking during pregnancy
We’re celebrating this significant milestone that reflects decades of dedication, partnership and compassionate care by sharing some of the personal and heart-warming stories of the people who make it all possible.
Nicola, our Chief Nurse said: “As both a nurse and a midwife, maternity services have always held a special place in my heart. Welcoming new life into the world is a moment of profound significance, and for 40 years our teams have been alongside women, birthing people, and families through some of the most important – and sometimes most difficult – moments of their lives.
“What makes this anniversary truly meaningful is the legacy behind it. We have colleagues who work at our organisation who were born here, and even had their children delivered here, and this connection with our community is something to cherish.
“I am incredibly proud of everyone working in our Women’s Health Unit: our midwives, maternity support workers, nurses, obstetricians, theatre staff, neonatology colleagues, ward teams, administrators, and support services who embody what high-quality, person-centred care looks like.”
Caroline’s story
“I joined Torbay Hospital as a newly qualified midwife in May 1984, working on the Mary Delve ward, which now forms part of the Louisa Cary Children’s Ward, before the Maternity Unit opened in February 1985. At that time, care was very hospital-based, with an antenatal ward and two postnatal wards. Over the years, hospital stays have become much shorter, and our focus has shifted toward supporting families in the community, reducing three wards to one.
“The opening of the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) within the Maternity Unit in 1985 was a major milestone, allowing many preterm or unwell babies to remain at Torbay and avoid separation from their mothers. The neonatal service has continued to grow, now providing high-dependency care.
“I was fortunate to work for many years in a dual role, providing both midwifery and neonatal care. Following service changes, I now work fully within neonatology – a role I truly enjoy. Surrounded by a committed and supportive team, I still feel the same pride in caring for babies today as I did when I first started 40 years ago.”
Jess and Kate’s story
Millennial baby, Jess Baker and her mum Kate Baker both proudly work at Torbay Hospital. Jess is an administration assistant in Speech and Language, a role she has embraced for the past three years. Kate works as a secretarial assistant in Haematology and has been part of the team for five years.
Kate’s connection to the hospital began long before she joined us — with Jess’s birth. Reflecting on that time, she speaks warmly of the support she received: “Thank you for the care I received. It was scary being a first-time mum, but everyone made me feel so supported, and the advice I was given was truly invaluable. I feel so privileged to work here all these years later.”
Now, decades later, Jess is helping shape patient experiences from the very first step.
“I feel really proud to work here,” she says. “In my role, I’m the first person to begin the patient’s journey, and I love knowing I’ve made a difference to someone’s life.”
Ali’s story
Thank you to Ali Meadows, Torbay and Devon Carers and Governor Representative for sharing a very personal and emotional memory.
“In June 1991, when I was 28 weeks pregnant, I developed severe pre-eclampsia. It was an incredibly worrying time, and events moved very quickly. On 12 June, my darling son Jack made his arrival into the world, far earlier than expected and weighing just 2lbs 4¼ ounces.
“A special team was ready to deliver him by caesarean section, and among them was midwife Jan Miles, who captured his very first photograph. I will never forget her kindness. Jan later came to visit me to tell me all about Jack and how he was doing, as he had been taken straight to Exeter Neonatal Unit for specialist care. It was three long days before I was well enough to travel and finally see him.
“Over the years, life moved on, and as fate would have it, Jan and I got to know each other again as our children went to the same schools. Remarkably, even 34 years later, Jan still asks after Jack. That level of care and compassion has always stayed with me.
“I couldn’t have wished for anyone more kind or caring to be there with him in his first moments of life. “Thank you, Jan.”
Jan, who is still a midwife working in our Women’s Health Unit still remembers Ali and Jack. She said: “I still remember being with Ali the day Jack was born. What a special day that was and the pleasure has continued over the years getting updates from Ali on what he has been up to!
“It has been a privilege to be with a midwife at Torbay Hospital and to walk with so many women and their families during this special but often challenging time of life.”
Have you been cared for by our team at the Women’s Health Unit? If you would like to share your story, please email tsdft.communicationsteam@nhs.net