Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust (HDFT) has digitised its maternity service by going live with the BadgerNet maternity system by Clevermed, a System C company.
At the same time, the system has joined together pregnancy records across Yorkshire and Humber, York, and Scarborough.
Pregnant people throughout the region now have access to their pregnancy record via an app/portal and clinicians can view the information and record all events in real-time, wherever they present – in the hospital, in the community, or at home.
This includes both high-risk (consultant-led) and low-risk (midwife-led) pregnancy pathways.
Clevermed is preparing to integrate more units onto the shared record, with Hull and North Lincolnshire joining the system later this year to join up care and processes across the whole of Yorkshire.
In Harrogate, BadgerNet Maternity has replaced paper notes and digitised a busy maternity unit that cares for approximately 2,000 families annually.
Staff have instant access to the pregnancy record, which previously was stored on paper, making it challenging if patients received care at another unit or were not able to bring their paper record with them.
Having the complete record at patients’ fingertips is essential for staff to deliver faster and more-informed care.
It has been great supporting the trust to make the transformational leap from paper processes to a fully-digitised service that also connects care across boundaries and provides a single pregnancy record within a large region
And this integrated approach enhances patient experience by reducing the amount of times women who have experienced trauma, or who have complex histories, have to repeat and relive their story to multiple healthcare professionals at each point of care.
HDFT has also linked the maternity system with its existing BadgerNet neonatal system where users automatically benefit from being able to access the BadgerNet single neonatal record that is used in most neonatal units across the country.
Digital midwife, Rachel Robson, at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The go-live went very smoothly and the system stood up to the delivery of twins on the day.
“Already we are saving lots of time on inputting observations and booking appointments.
“As a trust, our objective is to work in partnership and to provide women and their families with a safe and effective service, aiming to deliver the highest standard of maternity and neonatal care.
“A digital joined-up record is a key enabler to maintaining that level of care.”
Guy Lucchi, managing director of healthcare at System C, added: “Joining up records across the region is an exciting development for the services and women in the area.
“It has been great supporting the trust to make the transformational leap from paper processes to a fully-digitised service that also connects care across boundaries and provides a single pregnancy record within a large region.”
