Jo visited the Oasis Birthing Unit in the Princess Royal University Hospital earlier today, where he congratulated staff on the delivery of the unit's 1,000th birth since it first opened on 8 December 2010. 

Jo said: "I was hugely impressed by the state-of-the-art Oasis Unit and was thrilled to be there on a momentous week for the ward.  I offer my warmest wishes to parents Vikki and Adrian on the birth of their daughter, Freya.  I welcome the Government's commitment to improving women's experience of maternity care and offering families a broader choice of services – and I am pleased that Oasis fully reflects that goal."  

The midwife-led unit , equipped with five en-suite birthing rooms and two birthing pools, provides a calm and homely environment for low-risk births. South London NHS Healthcare Trust has the third best maternity safety record in London and has halved the number of serious incidents over the past 12 months. It has recruited 70 more midwives recruited in the past year; has a 15% transfer rate at the Oasis Unit (half the rate of many units across England); and a 22 per cent caesarean section rate (the 3rd lowest in London).  

This comes in the same week, in which the Dr Foster Good Hospital Guide produced a report which said that the South London Healthcare NHS Trust (SLHT) hospitals have significantly lower mortality rates than the national average.

To see the full national table on the BBC website click here