Work has begun to refurbish the maternity unit at Jersey's General Hospital.

It's set to cost around £6.5 million and be completed by October 2023.

It will include better temperature control, a bigger special care baby unit, and en-suite facilities in delivery rooms.

Among the first changes will be an upgraded nurse call system.

Head of Midwifery Dana Scott says while work will be disruptive at times, the service won't be impacted significantly;

"We'll have panels put up.  Where the builders will be one side of the building, we'll be at the other wide of the building.  Everything will be screened off.  We have put a lot of thought into privacy and dignity.  We will factor where we can look after women and 'business as usual' around where the builders need to be at certain times.

Our teams will be working hard to ensure families continue to be supported throughout this time.”

This is exciting news for us in maternity as the unit hasn’t had any significant refurbishments during the last 25 years."

A recent review of maternity services described the current facilities within the hospital as 'inadequate and highly unacceptable'.

The refurbishment will be split into 11 phases with the first phase of work starting in August and ending in February 2022. 

The government has produced a video explaining the maternity ward's refurbishment.