Update 10 May 2024

Update on Cossham Birth Centre

Providing safe care for all women, birthing people and babies across our services is our priority. 

While we have made progress in recruitment, maternity workforce challenges remain across the NHS and regretfully we are not yet in a position to reopen the Cossham Birth Centre for births. Work remains ongoing and we will update further as soon as possible.

We are sorry for any disappointment this may cause and would like to reassure families that our Home Birth service continues to be available on a case-by case-basis and the Mendip Birth Centre at Southmead Hospital remains an option as an alternative midwife-led setting for women and birthing people. 

Community appointments, breastfeeding support and other antenatal and postnatal services continue to be available from Cossham.

We recognise the valuable contribution of Cossham Hospital in providing services for the local population and are continuing to review how we can further develop services on the site for the local community.

Cossham Birth Centre, Cossham Hospital, Lodge Road, Kingswood, Bristol BS15 1LF. 0117 4145150.

Why give birth at Cossham? 

You will be cared for by a small team of experienced midwives and support workers who are passionate about supporting normal birth and putting you at the centre of your care. 

You can give birth in a home from home environment with birthing pools, aromatherapy, massage and a focus on active birth. 

Who can birth at Cossham birth centre?

Women from anywhere across Bristol, with uncomplicated pregnancies and who are aiming for a natural birth are welcome to birth at Cossham Birth Centre.

You will need to have your 34 week appointment with the team at Cossham in order to be booked in to give birth at Cossham and your community midwife can arrange this for you.

What care will I receive here?

You can choose to have all your care throughout your pregnancy, birth and the early days with your baby here at Cossham Birth Centre with Jade Team.

Alternatively you can choose to keep your Antenatal and Postnatal care with your local community midwife and just come to Cossham to give birth

Before arriving at Cossham Birth Centre, women in labour must telephone 0117 4145150 and speak to a midwife who will assess and support you by phone and plan your arrival at the birth centre,

What facilities are available here?

Facilities at Cossham Birth Centre have been designed to provide comfort and support in labour and include: 

• Four en-suite birth rooms furnished with floor mats, cushions and birth balls to support you
• A water pool in each birth room, should you wish to relax and/or give birth in water. Women who labour while immersed in water require fewer drugs for pain management, and are more likely to have a quicker labour
• Entonox (gas and air), TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation), aromatherapy and Pethidine pain management options  
• A double bed in each room so your partner may stay with you and your baby after the birth
• A bluetooth speaker for your own choice of music
• Use of a communal kitchen with light snacks available.

In addition to the birth facilities, Cossham Birth Centre is a base for the local community midwives and a venue for antenatal clinics, classes, postnatal clinics and breastfeeding support groups.

Throughout labour the midwife will encourage, support and guide you, encouraging you to feel in control. We support your partners involvement at all times during your labour, and value their presence. A study "Birth Place" 2017 about place of birth supports healthy women with straightforward pregnancies choosing to give birth in a free-standing birth centre such as Cossham Birth Centre, Bristol. It showed that these women are more likely to have:

• A "normal birth"
• A water pool in labour

and are less likely to have medical interventions such as:

• An intravenous infusion to help with progress of labour
• A forceps delivery
• A Caesarean section.

What pain management options are available?

• Aromatherapy
• TENS
• Birth pool
• Entonox (gas and air)
• Pethidine.

The midwives at Cossham Birth Centre are not able to provide:

• Epidural pain relief
• Induction of labour (starting contractions off) if you require this
• Assisted delivery with forceps or ventouse
• Caesarean Section.

What happens in an emergency?

Cossham Birth Centre has the equipment available and the staff trained for initial care in emergency situations. However, the facilities for more intensive or longer term resuscitation are not available at midwife-led units and therefore if women or babies at Cossham Birth Centre need medical treatment they will need to be transferred to Southmead Hospital’s maternity unit by ambulance, a Midwife always accompanies you during a transfer to Southmead Hospital. The current transfer rate from Cossham Birth Centre is, on average, 30%, and the average transfer time is one hour – this is from the initial telephone call to arrival at Southmead Hospital. Your partner is given the option to accompany you on the journey.  Please call Cossham Birth Centre if you require specific details of transfer statistics.

What happens after the birth?

After the birth, we encourage a calm, quiet and gentle time for you and your partner, with skin to skin contact with your baby and support with feeding. Your partner can stay with you. If everything has been straightforward with your birth and your baby is feeding well, the midwives will try to ensure that you can go home after six hours. If you are not able to go home after six hours, you can continue to be supported at Cossham for up to 24 hours post birth.

Cossham Birth Centre Tours

Unfortunately due to the service being suspended, tours aren't currently running. In the meantime, please do explore the virtual tour via the menu on the left side of this page and you can also find us on Google Earth!

We are planning to launch online active birth workshops in the near future, to empower and inform you on active birth in labour. More information coming soon.

Choosing where to give birth

For more information for you and your partner on planning where to give birth visit: 

www.nhs.uk

www.nhs.uk (First baby)

www.nhs.uk (If you have given birth before)

Philosophy of Cossham Birth Centre

Divisional Director of Midwifery and Nursing

Julie Northrop
Email: julie.northrop@nbt.nhs.uk

Deputy Divisional Directors of Midwifery and Nursing

Diane Dorrington
Email: diane.dorrington@nbt.nhs.uk

Jodie Da Rosa
Email: jodie.darosa@nbt.nhs.uk

Clinical Director

Jane Mears 
Email: jane.mears@nbt.nhs.uk

Divisional Operations Director

Claire Weatherall
Email: claire.weatherall@nbt.nhs.uk

General Manager - Maternity

Louise Wallace
Email: louise.wallace@nbt.nhs.uk

General Manager - Gynaecology & NICU

Kirsty Pinner
Email: kirsty.pinner@nbt.nhs.uk

Consultant Obstetricians

• Dr Sonia Barnfield, Obstetrician, Maternal Medicine
• Dr Simon Grant, Obstetrician, Fetal Medicine
• Dr Jo Crofts, Obstetrician 
• Dr Naomi Jobson, Obstetrician 
• Dr Rachel Ion, Obstetrician 
• Dr Christy Burden, Obstetrician 
• Mr Sherif Abdel-Fattah, Obstetrician 
• Dr. Kate Collins, Obstetrician 
• Dr Fiona Day, Obstetrician 
• Dr Sian Edwards, Obstetrician 
• Dr Cameron Hinton, Obstetrician 
• Dr Lisa Kirk, Obstetrician 
• Dr Stephen O'Brien, Obstetrician 
• Dr Judith Standing, Obstetrician
• Dr Fran Neuberger, Obstetrician 

For more information on our Consultants visit www.nbt.nhs.uk/consultants

Clinical Matrons

Central Delivery Suite and Inpatient Services
Nicola Chinnock

General Infertility, Gynaecology Inpatients and Outpatients
Rosie Malins

Community Midwifery Services
Margaret Smith

Antenatal Clinic, Fetal Medicine & Screening and Cedar Team
Bonny Hetherington

Mendip Birth centre, Home Birth, Percy Phillips 
Yvonne Bishop

Continuous Improvement and Learning Team
Jessie Peplar and Ruth Gregory

Divisional Recruitment and Retention Lead 
Liz Haines

Managers

Community Pearl Team
Gaynor Jackson

Community Lilac Team
Libby Hutchison

Community Jade Team
Beth Connelly

Antenatal Clinic

Catherine Poole

Quantock Ward and Quantock Assessment Unit
Carli Bleaken and Lisa Redmayne

Percy Phillips Ward
Rachel Cox

Cotswold Ward
Nicola Carey

Community Blue Team
Hayley Scull

Community Green Team
Vanessa Lanham-Cook

Community Indigo Team
Monica Carter

Community Orange Team
Bethany Roswell

Community Pink Team
Tracy Wharrier

Community Red Team
Nicola Kettle

Community Yellow Team
Eloise Alexander

Mendip Birth Centre and Transitional care 
Beth Thornley and Beth Connelly

Specialist Midwives

Service User Experience and Engagement Leads 
Hayley Forbes

Infant feeding Midwife
Marion Copeland

Screening Coordinator
Aimee Yendle

Fetal Medicine Leads
Julie Wormell and Zoe Dorgan

Bereavement Midwives
Stephanie Evans and Emily Arnold

Complex Care Midwives
Sharon Cohen, Stephanie Miller and Lauren Birchall

Perinatal Specialist Midwives
Gemma Cole and Caroline Oates

Birth Afterthoughts Midwife 
Sarah Brooks

Named Midwife for Safeguarding
Jessica Harrison

Choosing Where to Have Your Baby

If you are healthy and your pregnancy is advancing normally, why not think about having your baby at home?

In your own home environment you will be able to relax and feel at ease, surrounded by whoever you wish as a birth partner/s. Its your home, your choice. The relaxed surrounds supports the natural process of labour and birthing, and women often find they need less pain management in their labour.

If you choose to have a home birth, we have a dedicated home birth midwife on duty, who will come to your home around 36 weeks to guide you in the practicalities of preparing your home. They are usually items you have in the home anyway, so don’t be concerned that there is any added cost. She will help you to decide which room you would like to birth in and the logistics to consider depending if you live, for example, in a flat. We will bring with us some essential items prior to the day, so we are fully prepared. Don’t worry about there being a mess, as midwives are very discreet and excellent at minimising any visual ‘mess’. The midwife will discuss any concerns you may have and answer your questions.

What pain management options are available? 

Some women choose to hire a birth pool or a TENS machine (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation). You would be encouraged to remain mobile as you feel you can, to ensure your baby is in the optimal position. The Midwife will provide gas and air (entonox) should you need this, and support you in how to use this. Some Community Midwives can offer massage and aromatherapy.

What happens in an emergency?

Our community midwives are experienced in supporting you, giving dedicated 1:1 care at home and are trained to deal with emergencies. If the midwife has any concerns before, during or after the birth, with either you or your baby, your midwife will discuss these with you and explain and guide you through the next steps to take. If you require a transfer to hospital, this will be by ambulance and your midwife will stay with you and continue to support you for the journey.

What happens after the birth?

On birthing at home, your midwife will encourage you and your birth partner to have skin to skin with your baby, and encourage the building of a special bond. You will be supported in your chosen method of feeding your baby, and practical support and guidance given. If breastfeeding, we will ensure that you have the skills to feed your baby, and encourage you towards being independent and confident before we leave your home.

Your community midwife can answer any questions you may have and will be happy to discuss planning your homebirth with you.

For more information for you and and your partner on planning where to give birth visit: 

www.nhs.uk

www.nhs.uk (First baby)

www.nhs.uk (If you have given birth before)

Read about antenatal appointments and care on NHS.uk

North Bristol NHS Trust has a dedicated Rapid Access Clinic for people suspected to have giant cell arteritis. 

We are happy to discuss any possible cases and would rather see them pretreatment with glucocorticoids.

We will normally see patients within 2 days, organise a temporal artery biopsy and start treatment if appropriate.

Characteristics suggestive of GCA

• Advancing age over 50 years (typically over 60 years)
• Raised ESR/PV and/or CRP
• Jaw/tongue claudication
• New headache (usually unilateral, temporal)
• Scalp pain and tenderness
• Temporal artery tenderness or reduced temporal artery pulse
• Visual symptoms and signs including diplopia. If eye symptoms contact the Eye Hospital. 

If the PV and CRP are low and the patient is <60 years old, be very suspicious of an alternative diagnosis.

In case of visual symptoms or signs, phone urgently the Ophthalmology on-call at the Bristol Eye Hospital.

Referrals should be made via switchboard on 0117 9505050 and ask for the on call rheumatologist between 8am-4pm Monday - Friday and 9am-12noon Saturday and Sunday.

Shared care protocols and advice for DMARDs & Biologics

These sheets provide guidance on monitoring of DMARDS in primary care.

For the full shared care protocols and responsibilities for primary care refer to 

DMARDs (BNSSG joint formulary updated September 2012)

• Azathioprine
• D-Pencillamine
• Gold
• Hydroxychloroquine
• Leflunomide
• Methotrexate
• Sulphasalazine

Anti TNF

• Anti-TNF monotherapy
• Tocilizumab monitoring guidelines
• Safety of anti TNF treatment in males wishing to father children

Pain clinic can be accessed by a referral from your GP, physiotherapist, your local Musculoskeletal Assessment and Treatment Service and the spinal surgery services at Southmead Hospital Bristol.

Back Pack can be accessed by a referral from your GP, physiotherapist, your local Musculoskeletal Assessment and Treatment Service (MATS), the spinal surgery services at Southmead Hospital Bristol, and the Pain Clinic at Southmead Hospital Bristol.
Once we have received your referral, we will offer you an individual assessment with the specialist physiotherapist prior to starting the group.

Pain Management Programme Groups (PMP) are accessed only from the Pain Clinic, because these groups are only available to people with pain that cannot be relieved by the treatments that are currently available. Before somebody joins one of our PMP groups, it is important that they have had this assessment within the Pain Clinic, so that any possible options for pain relief can be explored. You will also need to have an initial assessment, with a psychologist specialising in chronic pain, and then attend an information meeting

A Self-Management Programme (SMP) can be accessed by a referral from your GP, physiotherapist, your local Musculoskeletal Assessment and Treatment Service (MATS), the spinal surgery services at Southmead Hospital Bristol, and the Pain Clinic at Southmead Hospital Bristol.
Once we have received your referral, we will invite you to attend an Introductory Meeting so that you can find out more about the courses that we offer. Once you have attended an Introductory Meeting, you can choose to have an individual assessment so that we can discuss the different options available and we can then offer you a place on a course. The SMP courses run in different venues around Bristol, and we will try to offer you a place on the most convenient course for you.

GMC Number: 4634069

Year & location of first qualification: 1999, London

Specialty: Neurology 

Clinical interest: Cognition and dementia

Secretary: Helen Selman

Telephone: 0117 414 6691

Professor Elizabeth Coulthard trained to become a neurologist in Oxford, London and Bristol. 

Since 2011, Professor Elizabeth Coulthard has developed a multidisciplinary cognitive disorders clinic. The clinic specialises in early diagnosis of the different diseases that results in dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease. The clinic also offers a range of treatments including a Brain Health lifestyle advice clinic. Clinical research is at the heart of the clinic’s practice and offers a range of treatment trials. Professor Elizabeth Coulthard’s academic research aims to better understand sleep and brain health in order to develop future treatments.

GMC number: 4090155

Year of first qualification: 1994, Cambridge University

Specialty: Plastic Surgery

Clinical interest: Skin Cancer, Dermoscopy, Management of melanoma 

Secretary: Joanne Hawkins

Telephone: 0117 414 7607
Email: joanne.hawkins@nbt.nhs.uk

Mr Dominic Ayers is a specialist in skin cancer and skin lesions within the Plastic Surgery Department at North Bristol NHS Trust.

All of Dominic Ayers’ elective practice in plastic surgery is skin lesions and skin cancer. An important part of this is the Pigmented Lesion Clinic, where patients are referred direct from their GPs.

He has further regular clinics where he see patients with skin lesions and skin cancer who are referred by their GP but also sent on from Dermatology colleagues with whom he works closely.

His particular interests are dermoscopy, management of melanoma and care of the elderly with skin cancer. 

Mr Ayers outpatient clinics are held both in Bath and North Bristol.

Year of first qualification: 1995

Specialty: Urology

Clincial interests: Uro-oncology, Kidney and Testis Cancer, Andrology

Secretary: Amy Wheeler

Telephone: 0117 4145002

Email: urologykidneyoncologyadminteam@nbt.nhs.uk

Mr Salah Albuheissi received Specialist UrologicTraining in open, laparoscopic and robotic surgery in the Southwest of England, Cleveland (USA) and Austria. His special interest is in the management of kidney,testis and retroperitoneal cancers. He also manages other conditions including erectile dysfunction, prostate and bladder problems.

His main research interest is uro-oncology & Andrology.