Medical notes for mums-to-be are going online
Pregnant women in Forth Valley will soon be able to access a summary of their maternity notes online.
Health chiefs insist the system is secure and means they will no longer have to carry hard copies of the information.
Dubbed BadgerNet, the scheme will be launched on August 28 for all women accessing maternity services in Forth Valley from that date.
Women will be able to access and complete their birthplan online and view information such as Ready, Steady, Baby and health advice.
Mums-to-be will also be able to contribute to their own record and discuss anything added at their next midwifery appointment. An android app is also being developed.
Additional support midwifery sister Val Arbuckle said: “BadgerNet is an electronic record which will be used by maternity unit staff caring for women during their pregnancy.
“It means women will no longer have to remember to bring their notes to each appointment and midwives and clinicians involved in their care will have real-time access to their maternity records.
“These can be easily updated at each maternity visit or appointment, in either a community or hospital setting.”
To ensure the service has all the relevant information required to develop an electronic maternity record, pregnant women can email the service on pregnantfv@nhs.net to request their first appointment with a midwife.
An automatic response will be sent which will include a template to be completed with all the relevant information. Alternatively, if they phone the maternity unit on 01324 567146 to make a first appointment they will be asked a number of questions to help create the new electronic record.
A spokesman said all information would be held securely and could not be accessed without the appropriate login details (similar to internet banking).
Registration details and how to access maternity records either by an app or via the internet will be given at the first booking appointment and will also be available on www. nhsforthvalley.com. Access can be made through PC, tablet or iOS device. An android app is also being developed.
There is also an opt-out feature available for those mums who do not have internet access. In these cases women will be given a summary note of their electronic maternity record.
Val added: “BadgerNet is expected to save a great deal of time for midwives and clinicians as they currently have to handwrite pregnancy notes onto paper as well as input data into a computer system.
“This new technology will free them up to spend more time with women and less time on administration. We hope the new service will make it easier and more convenient for woman to access information and monitor the progress of their pregnancy.”
Women will no longer have to remember to bring their notes