THE University Hospital of North Staffordshire's new £40 million maternity complex has been singled out for praise at the Labour Party conference in Brighton.

Speaking in front of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Stoke-on-Trent city councillor Mark Davis described the new maternity centre as "magnificent".

He told delegates how shortly before it opened in April, his wife, Jane, delivered a six-week premature baby in the old unit, who was then switched to special care in the new department.

He said: "Joseph is doing fine now and as he was about to be born, the delivery suite filled with people, obstetricians, paediatricians, nurses, midwives, in the end there were seven members of NHS staff to help our son into the world.

"Not a thought about cost, not a thought about health insurance, just there to help.

"Joseph was there when the state-of-the-art new maternity unit was opened and the same skilled and caring staff, the magnificent new building, our lives, like so many others, shaped by the NHS."

Chief executive Julia Bridgewater said she was delighted Mr Davis, pictured left, took such a public opportunity to praise the staff at the maternity centre.

She added: "The staff have been wonderful during the transfer of services from the old to the new centre.

"Six thousand babies are born with us each year and, like Mr Davis' family, they have benefited from the quality of care offered by our staff in an environment that now matches their expertise."