From here, the swimming pool, lounge, restaurant and gardens are all visible in one sweeping glance through the ample glazing. Past the curved reception desk, one room off this open-plan setting is equipped with computers, another with exercise mats. Believe it or not, this is a housing project for older people in the distinctly unglamorous setting of Elephant and Castle, and it could well become a radical model for future developments.
Not so surprising is that it was built for the Peabody Trust, one of London’s largest affordable housing providers and among the most innovative agencies when it comes to regeneration. In place of a Victorian tenement building, with 150 poky, dark flats, it has a thoughtfully designed scheme with 76 flats plus – perhaps most exciting of all – healthcare, job training and fitness facilities which they will share with the local community.

Step into the foyer of Darwin Court in south London and you could be in a bright new hotel. Measure abdomen, blood pressure and urine.36 weeks: Check position of baby is head first. Measure abdomen, blood pressure and urine.38 weeks: Measure abdomen, blood pressure and urine.40 weeks: Measure abdomen, blood pressure and urine.**Starred checks can be omitted for mothers who have already had a baby.. Check abdomen, blood pressure and urine.31 weeks: Check abdomen, blood pressure and urine.*34 weeks: Second anti-D treatment. She said: “We should be more imaginative about how we meet the needs of women.”Women could be granted more time to talk to their midwife or doctor. Dr Brocklehurst said: “This should open the door for longer consultations, particularly in early pregnancy.” There were unlikely to be cost savings from the cut in antenatal appointments, or the ending of tests for gestational diabetes, because the guidance also called for an increase in other screening tests and more ultrasound scans.ANTENATAL CHECKS FOR FIRST-TIME MOTHERSAt eight to 12 weeks: Ultrasound scan, discuss screening tests, offer folic acid, help to stop smoking.

Measure blood pressure, weight and test urine.16 weeks: Discuss and record results of screening tests. Measure blood pressure and test urine.25 weeks: Check size of abdomen, blood pressure and urine.*28 weeks: More tests Take anti-D treatment if rhesus negative blood group. He said the test was unreliable, doctors did not know how to treat it and anxiety in the minds of the woman and her carers could be raised, increasing the risk of the pregnancy ending in a Caesarean section.Mary Newburn, head of policy research at the National Childbirth Trust, warned that the guidance was based on what was clinically necessary in pregnancy but it ignored women’s need for emotional support. The schedule of visits was developed in the 1920s and has been added to, but not substantially changed, in more than 80 years.The new guidance, which NHS trusts are required to follow, says the number of visits should be halved to seven for women who have already had one child and reduced to ten for women having their first.The first appointment should be held earlier, at eight weeks of pregnancy, so women have time to think about screening for foetal abnormalities, with fewer appointments in mid-pregnancy.