Address
Belford Hospital
Belford Road
Fort William
PH33 6BS
Tel: 01397 700 371 (direct line)
Tel: 01397 702 481 (switchboard)
Referral Unit
Raigmore, Inverness.
Midwife will contact Raigmore Consultant who will organise transfer.
Description
The Belford Hospital is a small rural 72 bedded Hospital covering the Lochaber Area, which comprises of approximately 2,000 square miles most of which is sparsely populated and remote.
There are approximately 200 pregnancies in the Lochaber Area per annum, with approximately 50 low risk births per year in the Belford Hospital.
The midwifery department located on the ground floor of the hospital, access to the maternity unit is through the main entrance during the day till 10pm and via A&E at night.
Method of Transport
Road
the main entrance to the hospital is located on Belford Road, the main road through Fort William.
Distances from:
- Inverness 40 miles
- Aberdeen, 154 miles
- Dundee 124 miles
- Glasgow 108 miles
The ambulance crew are based in Fort William, with one crew on shift and one on standby at night.
Air
The nearest airport is Inverness (closed at night).
The Helicopter has to land in a public car park.
The Maternity Unit
The unit has one good sized delivery room, one clinic and one post natal bed. There is piped oxygen and at present air cylinders are available. They are awaiting the installation of a piped air supply. The room is warm with ample radiators and power sockets.
Staff and Training
The Midwifery Team comprises of 7.9 WTE Midwives (10 staff) and 3.05 WTE Midwifery Assistants (4 staff).
There is always one midwife allocated to be one for the unit during the day the rest covering the community.
There are 2 midwives on call at night.
Medical back up is from…..
Equipment
- There is a Fisher and Paykell Resuscitaire with neopuff attachment
- supply of Murphy’s ETT (size 2.5-4)
- umbilical lines (size 3.5-5)
- Transwarmer mattresses
- No incubator, but would nurse a baby on resuscitaire.
- Monitoring of oxygen saturation and blood glucose available.
- Infusion pump can be borrowed from ward.
- X-ray radiographer on call
- Blood gas analysis can be done at A&E.
Drugs
- Antibiotics and morphine available, other drugs available from general side.
- No surfactant or prostin.