A MAJOR revamp is to take place at a maternity ward which deals with 3,000 expectant mothers each year.

It will mean more than 1,500 women could give birth in a temporary delivery suite as work takes place at York District Hospital's maternity ward.

However, head of midwifery Margaret Jackson has assured women and their partners that the disruption will be minimal and will result in a much-improved delivery ward.

The project is expected to start next April and last for six months. The ward will be modernised and the ventilation and electrical systems upgraded to meet statutory requirements.

But before that work can take place, a temporary operating theatre must be built and a temporary delivery suite constructed within the hospital.

Mrs Jackson said: "Most of these changes are based on what women and their partners wanted. We tried to talk to as many women as we could as part of the Impact project to improve services."

Maternity services at the hospital have already been improved as part of a £869,700 scheme.