University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay (UHMB) NHS FT have collaborated with Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, East Lancashire NHS Trust, and Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS FT to launch an Electronic Patient Record system for maternity services.
The new app will make it easier for pregnant women and midwives to keep in regular contact with one another and share relevant information. It is currently being rolled out at UHMB, and will enable pregnant women to look at their own medical notes, view healthcare leaflets recommended by their midwife, and refer themselves to maternity services when needed using a PC, tablet or smartphone.
There will also be the opportunity for patients to complete their birth plan, keep a weekly diary, and upload photos, that can be shared with family and friends. It will also allow authorised maternity colleagues from different organisations to access the information, and record notes in real-time from the hospital or in the community.
Karen Bridgeman, Digital Midwife, at UHMBT, said: “The system will bring a much better experience for our families in accessing their records and communicating with staff supporting them.
“Maternity staff will benefit from an intuitive system that follows the maternity pathway of care, in turn saving time for staff across Morecambe Bay. This allows maternity staff to spend more time on what’s really important – caring for families.
“This is a bold digital advancement and we are privileged to have such an opportunity to further improve our services.
“We are so excited to be able to implement this at our trust, and we are looking forward to working with our partners to build a truly integrated maternity service across south Cumbria and north Lancashire.”
The trust will transition to this system during summer, with a completely integrated approach towards maternity services across south Cumbria and north Lancashire, expected to be in place by the end of 2021.
