Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust become first Trust to share maternity data across North East and North Cumbria

Pregnant person holding baby bump

The Great North Care Record (GNCR) and the North East and North Cumbria Local Maternity and Neonatal System (LMNS), have delivered the ‘first of type’ integration using BadgerNet, the maternity services electronic patient record (EPR).

By using this connection, Gateshead Health NHS FT have become the first hospital in the North East and North Cumbria to share the maternity data that they record within the GNCR platform. It also makes them the first Trust to share maternity data outside of their organisation in the UK.

This collaborative partnership will significantly support health and care professionals and importantly delivers safer, better care for patients and the public.

Staff who care for pregnant people receiving their care at the Trust will now benefit from being able to securely see pregnancy data, across the North East and North Cumbria.

This shared care data connection provides core pregnancy data and is an initial phase of an ambitious region-wide programme.

Available now within GNCR, users will be able to see structured data, in real-time, including the following data:

  • Patient demographics
  • Encounters
  • Future appointments
  • Professional contacts
  • Allergies and adverse reactions
  • Vital signs
  • Vaccinations
  • Medications (to take out/TTO)
  • Social context
  • Mental health
  • Previous pregnancy details
  • Risk assessments
  • Care plans

Alice Butler, Lead Digital Midwife for Gateshead Health and NENC LMNS, who led the programme said: “Maternity services within our system have undergone a significant transition to digital maternity records. Today, all eight maternity providers utilise a unified electronic record system. This change has been transformational, allowing us to deliver safer and more efficient care by ensuring that a pregnant person’s records are accessible, regardless of location. However, we recognise that this change has posed challenges for healthcare services outside of maternity, as they lack access to the maternity system, and pregnant individuals no longer carry paper notes.  

By integrating maternity information into our regional shared care record, it means individuals won’t need to repeat their stories, and all the relevant information that the healthcare professional requires, will be available, in real-time, at the click of a button – freeing up time in consultations to provide better, more productive care. 

Lou Wilson, Head of LMNS Digital Strategy, NENC LMNS, explained: “To ensure that the right information was available, in the right place, at the right time, this integration was identified as one of the key priorities from our partners in our digital programme.”

Dr Sangeetha Bommisetty, GP Partner at Beacon View Medical Centre added: “General Practice is the first port of call for everything. Even during a person’s pregnancy and maternity journey, you will find that they will first come into primary care.

“By having this summary of information, it helps join up care between secondary and primary services and provides continuity which is key when delivering care and ensuring that we have safe outcomes for both mum and baby.”

If you would like to know more about GNCR training sessions and resources, visit the GNCR Training page – where you will also find a GNCR BadgerNet user guide.

A maternity-specific GNCR patient information leaflet has been co-produced with the NENC LMNS. The leaflet has also been translated into different languages and ‘Easy Read’ format.