Maternity care goes digital at Blackpool's hospitals

BadgerNet is a full electronic patient record which supports clinical and administrative management of a pregnant person’s whole maternity journey. It is a direct replacement for traditional paper-based records.

From June 7, the way that pregnant people access and book into the maternity service changed.

Expectant parents now self-refer directly into the service, via an online booking form, where they fill in their details, have a midwife assigned to them and an appointment is generated.

This saves time as it removes the need to get an appointment with a GP before being referred through to the service. Those who do not have digital access will still be able to telephone the service to self-refer for their pregnancy care.

As part of the BadgerNet rollout, the service also launched Badger Notes, which is an online portal and app. Badger Notes replaces the traditional hand-held paper record and allows parents to have real-time access to their maternity care record, which is populated with the information from the hospital maternity records.

It is a secure system requiring a log-in, which allows parents-to-be to see updates to their notes in real-time, as well adding their own information such as birthing plans or preferences and feedback. The portal is connected to the BadgerNet system which is used by maternity staff to record notes following appointments and consultations.

Records can be easily updated at each maternity visit or appointment and midwives do not have to double enter data onto paper handheld notes, allowing them more time to focus on delivering the very best care.

All expectant parents who were using traditional paper notes before June 7 will be migrated onto the system by the end of the month to enable them to use the Badger Notes app and portal.

Lisa Fitzgerald, Interim Deputy Head of Midwifery. said: “We are excited to take our digital journey to the next level and join our local maternity service colleagues in launching BadgerNet at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.”

“BadgerNet will give our families easier access to their notes and puts families at the centre of their care, enabling us to continue to improve our commitment to person-centred care.”