WYE Valley NHS Trust could draw on charity funding to build a “birthing pool and bean bag” maternity centre.

The centre is one of three projects proposed as priorities to the trust’s charitable funds committee (CFC).

A second CT scanner and a same site breast and retinal unit are also on the list.

The three bids were presented – at different stages of development – to a meeting of the CFC earlier this month.

A financial value for the bids represents a significant proportion of the trust’s total charitable funds.

As such, the trust board  has to prioritise the projects when it meets next week before further consideration by the CFC.

The Midwifery Led Birth Centre (MLBC) would be developed at Hereford County Hospital to accommodate around 400 births per year.

MLBCs provide the same model of care as home delivery where midwives are the lead professional.

There was a national expectation in previous NHS planning rounds that all Trusts should have, or develop, MLBCs.

Co-located on the maternity ward, and extended onto the ward’s veranda, the MLBC will  consist of three "low tech" en-suite delivery rooms with birthing pools  and bean bags – or mattresses – replacing hospital beds.

The cost of the MLBC is pitched at around £491,000.

A second CT scanner is estimated to cost around £1million based on a business case for additional diagnostic capacity.

The original scanner has recently been replaced through a managed equipment service but is operating at full capacity despite activity being scheduled during evenings and weekends.

A same site Breast & Retinal Unit will cost closer to £2 million.

With mammography - previously a regional service - returning to the trust, a location is needed on the county hospital campus to provide the new digital screening service from.

The expansion of follow up retinal activity in Ophthalmology services - primarily as a result of an ageing population - means that more outpatient space is required.

A location for both is likely to be the ground floor of the hospital’s currently empty Lionel Green Building.