TWO hospitals are to share more than £390,000 from the Government to improve their maternity facilities.

The biggest winner is Darlington Memorial Hospital, which will be allocated £347,500 to develop a Pregnancy Assessment Unit.

The unit will be a key part of the upgrading and expansion of the Memorial Hospital’s maternity unit to cope with the anticipated increase in up to 400 births a year.

This is partly a response to changes in hospital provision which means that more women from North Yorkshire are expected to have their babies in Darlington.

The other hospital which will benefit will be the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead which will receive £45,084 to provide a dedicated suite for bereaved parents and for parents of babies in special care units.

The allocation is part of a total fund of £10m, announced by Maternity Minister Dr Dan Poulter, which is being invested in 63 maternity units around the country.

The funding will also give women more choice of where they give birth.

Dr Poulter said: “Since 2010 we have already seen huge improvements to maternity services right across the country. We have more midwives working in more midwife-led units, record numbers of midwives in training, more birthing pools, and more family rooms. More mums and babies are being helped to have the best start in life.”