Every mum to be will be able to access their maternity records on
their smart phones, England’s Chief Nurse announced today.
Speaking at the NHS Confederation Conference, Chief Nursing
Officer for England, Ruth May, said “bulky paper records would
soon be banished” and pregnant women will be able to access
information on their pregnancy at their fingertips on phones or
other electronic devices if they choose to.
Women can also choose to keep paper records, depending on their
preference.
The NHS is investing £52 million to fast track its Long Term Plan
commitment to ensure that all women will have access to all of
their maternity notes and information through a smart phone or
other device by 2023/24.
NHSX and NHS England will work with maternity service providers,
local maternity and neonatal systems and integrated care systems,
as well as suppliers, to develop the best platform for clinicians
and women.
Chief Nursing Officer for England Ruth May said:
“Giving women easy access to their maternity records, whether on
a smart phone or online, allows them to take full control of
their pregnancy journey by having all the information and
decisions about their care at their fingertips.
“Midwives, GPs, and other clinicians caring for a pregnant woman
will also have easy access to information, no matter where or
when the mum-to-be is seen.
“Not only will this help improve the experience for women by
reducing the burden of repeating information to each healthcare
professional that they see throughout their pregnancy, but it
will also improve safety.
“It will help us to ensure the best health and care outcomes by
preventing important details from being missed.”
While some Trusts have some form of digital maternity records in
place, the new system will be the gold standard and ensure that
there are no variations in quality of platform across the
country.
NHS Chief Midwife Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent added:
“The records will allow women to easily access data about their
pregnancy as well as curated information about wider issues
around pregnancy in order to make well-informed decisions.
“As we continue to implement the NHS Long Term Plan, it is right
that digital maternity is being fast-tracked so that women, as
well as midwives and their colleagues, across the country will
get the support they need to deliver the best start in life for
every child.”
Dr Simon Eccles, Chief Clinical Information Officer and
Deputy Chief Executive of NHSX, said: “Ensuring that
every pregnant woman and all the clinicians caring for her can
see the same crucial health information about their own care and
unborn child is essential.
"That is why we are prioritising this work to put shared
maternity records in all parts of the country as quickly as
possible.”
Healthcare providers will be supported to upgrade their maternity
information systems so that records kept by different services
are fully interoperable.
To provide national leadership in digitising maternity services,
NHS England and NHSX have appointed Julia Gudgeon as the first
national digital midwife.
Julia will work closely with NHS Chief Midwife Jacqueline
Dunkley-Bent and be a key member of NHSX's Digital Child Health
and Maternity Team that will be supporting delivery of enhanced
digital services for women during their pregnancy journey.
