COMEDY actress Debra Stephenson made an impression as Poole Hospital celebrated the £4million refurbishment of its maternity facilities.

The Impressions Show star visited St Mary’s maternity unit yesterday to toast the completion of improvements, which will allow the service to support up to 6,000 births a year, provide 12 extra maternity beds and three additional pools.

The work also includes the freshly relocated midwife-led birthing unit, a new antenatal ward layout and a self-contained bereavement suite.

Guest of honour and mother-of-two Debra told the Daily Echo she thinks the improvements were essential and will allow for a more relaxed environment for new parents.

She said: “I appreciate how important this is – it will make a massive difference.

“I am a local person and I like to support the community where possible so I am pleased the new facility is here.

“It is excellent. Everybody here has worked it out really carefully and striven for the very best for local people.”

The 42-year-old, who rose to prominence after more than two years playing Frankie Baldwin in Coronation Street, cut the ribbon surrounded by staff, politicians and patients past and present – and kept them entertained with her quick wit along the way.

“Things have come a long way since I was born,” she said. “I was born in a maternity hospital – at the time I think they used to hold the babies upside down and slap their bottoms. They held me upside down and slapped my mother.

“I was a good looking baby, just like my father – bald headed and no teeth.”

Head of midwifery Sandra Chitty said the improvements, which also include a refurbished neonatal unit for sick babies and an upgraded monitoring system, will support the hospital’s aim of offering increased choice for mothers.

She added: “Much has been said about the need for maternity services to keep pace with demand, and this investment will ensure Poole Hospital has the capacity to do so.”