New system being introduced at UHMBT to integrate maternity services and help pregnant people stay connected to midwives

UHMBT media release 

A healthcare platform that makes it easier for pregnant people and their midwives to stay in touch and share information is being rolled out across University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT).

The Trust is joining forces with Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, East Lancashire NHS Trust and Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to implement Badgernet; a dedicated Electronic Patient Record system for maternity services.

The app allows pregnant people to access their own medical notes, look at healthcare leaflets recommended by their midwife and self-refer to maternity services at any time using a PC, tablet or smartphone. Badgernet also allows service users to complete their birth plan, keep a weekly diary, and upload photos which can be shared with family and friends.

Authorised maternity colleagues across different organisations can then access this information and record notes in real-time from hospital or in the community.

Karen Bridgeman, Digital Midwife, UHMBT, said: “The Badgernet 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 Badgernet 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.”

UHMBT will transition to the new system this summer, with a fully integrated approach for maternity services across south Cumbria and north Lancashire expected to be in place by the end of 2021.

More information about using the Badgernet system will be shared with maternity service users and their families directly.