Maternity beds transfer hospitals

The Princess Royal wants to cater for 6,000 pregnancies a year

A maternity ward at a hospital which is facing closure has shut its doors.

Sixteen beds and staff were transferred from the Queen Mother's Hospital to the Princess Royal Maternity with two additional beds created in a new ward.

The ward closure is the first step towards closing the Queen Mother's and locating maternity services to the Princess Royal and Southern General.

The hospital in the west end is expected to close for good at the end of 2008.

A new Royal Hospital for Sick Children will be built on the Southern General site next to the maternity hospital.

For those mothers who deliver at the Princess Royal, antenatal care and parent craft classes will continue to be provided in the west end of the city.

Dr Alan Mathers, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde's clinical director for obstetrics and gynaecology, said: "This is a further step along the path to providing accommodation for over 6,000 births a year."