As part of her role as the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) Patron, The Princess Royal kicked off the month of April with a visit to Inverurie’s Community Maternity Unit (ICMU) at NHS Grampian.
Her Royal Highness was given a tour of the facility and met with midwives, healthcare support workers, and families. That tour included a stop at the Day Assessment Unit, the Scanning Room, and one of the facility’s birthing rooms. The Princess was accompanied by RCM’s President Rebeccah Davies, the Director for Scotland Jaki Lambert, Deputy Chief Executive Adam Coldwells, and NHS Grampian Interim Chairman Dr John Tomlinson.
RCM Director for Scotland, Jaki Lambert said of the Princess’s visit: “Not long after the unit opened the pandemic hit, which staff on the unit coped with magnificently. It was so lovely to see the staff speaking to HRH The Princess Royal about how much a part of the community the unit has become, and how they worked through the pandemic to keep services going. They talked with great pride about their work and the care and services they provide for women in the area. This is such a great honour for the whole team here, and a well-deserved one.”
Interim Chair of NHS Grampian, John Tomlinson also spoke on the visit: “It was a pleasure to welcome HRH The Princess Royal to Inverurie Community Maternity Unit. I know staff were delighted to have the opportunity to speak to her and highlight the vital role played by our midwifery teams.”
At the end of the tour, the Princess unveiled a plaque to commemorate her visit to the maternity unit.
The ICMU opened back in 2019 and has since provided maternity services to women and babies across Aberdeenshire. The facility is used as a base for community midwives and since opening, the maternity unit has seen 339 births with 37 of those births being homebirths.
