Work has started on a new £10million extension to the maternity unit at Slough's Wexham Park Hospital.

A ground breaking ceremony was held on Friday before work began in earnest three days later.

The new improved unit will include a new labour ward, upgraded facilities in all labour rooms, better outpatient areas, a transitional care area for babies who need extra support from mums and more birthing pools.

Separate entrances for gynaecology and maternity to improve patient flows is also planned.

The new build is designed to 'future proof' the service if demand does rise over the next 10 years.

Wexham Park has always provided maternity care to women in Slough and the neighbouring Royal Borough. But the closure of Ealing Hospitals maternity unit resulted in the Slough hospital having to provide care for approximately an extra 135 women from outside the area.

This was not planned for as Wexham Park was not involved in the discussion to close services in Ealing.

The trust has pledged that services will not be affected while work is going on. Numbers of midwives will remain unaffected as will access to birthing pools. Any changes to rooms and wards will be clearly signposted.

Chief executive of the Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust that runs Wexham Park Sir Andrew Morris and his chairman Pradip Patel joined the Managing Director of builders Kier Construction London Cliff Thomas and his deputy Louisa Finlay to shovel the first earth on Friday.

Wexham Park will continue to provide an effective home birth service, currently catering for three per cent of mums.

The expansion to the maternity unit will be the first of a series of multi-million pound building projects at Wexham Park and its sister hospital Heatherwood in Ascot since both were taken over by managers at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust.

A new emergency department and acute care building at Wexham is planned while the ageing Heatherwood hospital is due to be rebuilt.

On Friday Slough MP Fiona Mactaggart opens the newly refurbished chemotherapy day unit at Slough.

The Eden Day Unit which treats patients with leukaemia and other cancers, has been refurbished and its capacity increased from nine to 16 chairs.