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About us
Penrice is a midwife-led birth centre and community midwifery base staffed from 9am-5pm however there are midwives on call for births at any time of day, there are no doctors or anaesthetists present and pain relief is provided through low intervention methods like water (hydrotherapy), massage, TENS machines, gas and air. Pethidine is also available.
Women experiencing a low risk pregnancy will be encouraged to consider giving birth here, your midwife will be able to advise you whether a midwife-led centre is suitable for you.
The birth centre has two birth rooms, one with a birthing pool and one with a large bath, they have a home-from home atmosphere with mood lighting, speakers for music, floor mats, beanbags, birthing balls, and other active birth aids. The rooms have en-suite facilities.
Penrice Birth Centre contact details
Telephone
When you are in labour please ensure you call the midwifery triage line 01872 258000 prior to coming to birth centre to enable the on call midwives to meet you there. There are no staff in the building before 9am or after 5pm.
For all non-urgent enquiries please e mail the team on rcht.penricebirthingcentre@nhs.net.
Manager
Lizzie Anstey
Matron
Samantha Gale
Directions to the Penrice Birth Centre
The birth centre is adjacent to St Austell Hospital (to the left side), the building has its own entrance and car parking area with free parking.
The address is: Penrice Birthing Centre, St Austell Hospital, Porthpean Road, Saint Austell, PL26 6AA
What3Words is a useful, free app which will bring you to the door. The code is: ///twinge.correctly.polka On arrival use the intercom to request entry to the building
Visiting the Penrice Birth Centre
Birth partners are welcomed and you can have additional visitors during daytime hours. You will usually stay for a few hours after the birth and then return home when you and your baby are well.
Related information
What patients can expect from us
Our pledge is to let our patients know what they are in hospital for, what is needed before we can send them home, a timeframe for their discharge and an opportunity for them to be involved in shared decision-making about their treatment and care.
Contacting the ward for updates on your loved one
The ward is a busy place and our priority is patient care; the best time to call is after 11 am, once the doctors have completed their rounds. Upon admission to our ward we will establish if our patients are able to make contact with loved ones.
We suggest that one person is nominated to call the ward for updates and to act as the patient’s single point of contact. Our patients with capacity and the ability to contact loved ones themselves, are best placed to provide an update. Those who would prefer relatives to be updated by staff will have this documented and we will endeavour to contact daily to provide an update.
Parking
Our patients may not always be able to be treated within the maternity unit. This means that they may be transferred to different wards during a single inpatient stay, and we will always endeavour to update the patient’s nominated contact of this.
Entertainment
Most wards have access to Wi-Fi on NHSWi-Fi, however there are some connectivity issues on Wheal Fortune.
Laptops and mobiles are allowed (if users are respectful of other patients – it’s a good idea to bring headphones and label devices clearly). We ask that you ensure any chargers that you may bring for devices are in a good working condition, so as not to cause a fire.
Patient Experience
We are passionate about patient experience and we want every one of our patients, and their relatives, to receive the best possible service when being treated at, or visiting, our hospitals. We take all feedback seriously and will take action where appropriate. Please see the Patient Experience section for further details.
Page last reviewed: 1 August 2023
