Urgent and emergency maternity care is now safer as midwives have implemented a new approach to triage
The UHDB Maternity Triage teams, who are based at both Royal Derby Hospital, (RDH) and Queen's Hospital Burton (QHB), are the first point of call for pregnancy related concerns, offering telephone advice to 3,000 women every month, and caring for 1,600 women face to face.
In November 2024 the team successfully implemented the Birmingham Symptom-specific Obstetric Triage System (BSOTS), which is best practice for maternity triage and uses a similar approach to A&E to prioritise women based on clinical need.
The new approach has led to significant improvements and is supporting midwives to quickly identifying and treat women who are high-risk, and for women who are not an emergency, there are clearer timelines meaning maternity teams can better manage expectations, helping families feel more reassured and informed during visits.
Through BSOTS, maternity triage is now accessed through a single phoneline which is manned 24/7 by a dedicated experienced midwife with those who need a physical assessment invited to attend 'Maternity Triage' and assessed within 15 minutes. The service supports women with pregnancy related concerns from 16 weeks of pregnancy to 6 weeks postnatally with direct access for families who find telephone communication difficult.
In recognition of the dedication and commitment required to implement this big change, Stephen Posey, Chief Executive of UHDB, presented the triage teams with a Trust Making a Difference Award to acknowledge their commitment to improving the care and experience of maternity families.
Katherine Mabey, Consultant Midwife at UHDB, has been part of the project team behind implementing BSOTS, she said: "Having an effective maternity triage system is essential as it helps ensure our patients receive timely attention and care specific to their specific needs.
"The introduction of BSOTS has been immensely rewarding, we can see firsthand the positive impact it is having on our patients, and receiving this award is truly special. Such a large scale change is not easy, but colleagues who have faced this project with energy and passion - keeping focused on the priority of improving services for our patients."
Interim Senior Midwife, Sarah Gudgin, has been involved in shaping the change of working processes in triage.
Sarah said: "Triage is a very busy area and responding to demand has been hugely challenging at times.
"The introduction of BSOTS has seen significant positive steps taken in working practice. I am so proud of the journey that the team have been on and for being recognised."
Previously, everyone with concerns during pregnancy would have been seen in the Pregnancy Assessment Unit (PAU) at RDH, or the Maternity Assessment Unit (MAU) at QHB, for both emergency and planned hospital appointments. These areas have now been renamed and separated so at both hospitals, there is a Maternity Triage area, for unplanned and emergency assessments, and a Maternity Day Case area for planned appointments.
If you have a concern during pregnancy, you should call 01332 785796 and an experienced midwife will talk through your symptoms and provide advice, which may involve a face to face assessment at RDH or QHB.