ONE of Wales' busiest maternity units is to have a £3.6m makeover.

Improvements to the main delivery unit at the Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport, will see better facilities that will mean more babies can be delivered.

The hospital is to have two new operating theatres, six post-operative support beds, two high-dependency beds and two extra delivery rooms.

The plans were given the go-ahead by the Assembly, which is funding the project.

Newport AM John Griffiths, deputy minister for health and social care, said: "The unit will provide a wider range of services and a greater level of expertise."

The number of births at the hospital has steadily increased over the last five years from just over 2,000 a year to 3,550 - almost ten births a day.

Mr Griffiths said mothers and babies needing specialised treatment will be able to receive it at the Royal Gwent Hospital, rather than be referred elsewhere.

"There may have been times when they had to go to the University Hospital of Wales, Heath, in Cardiff, for treatment," he said.

"But now it can all happen at the Gwent.

"It is going to allow mums and babies to get the services they need locally."

The new operating theatres will help with the increasing number of Caesarean deliveries, and it is expected that the new facilities will be in operation by the end of 2007.

Senior midwife Jenny Westwood, at the Royal Gwent Hospital, said: "It is very nice that it has been agreed and we look forward to it being completed.

"It will mean much better facilities for the mothers and babies and it is to be welcomed."

Mr Griffiths said the expansion may mean extra jobs.

The project first began in 2001, when the Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust identified a need to upgrade the facilities in the unit.

The full business case was agreed with the five Local Health Boards and the Assembly's Capital Investment Board.