Royal Cornwall Hospitals reports benefits from maternity information system

Staff at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust are reporting benefits from the implementation of a maternity information system.

Almost 600 employees at the trust’s hospital and community maternity services have started to use the E3 clinical system from Wellbeing Software.

The system, which was rolled out late 2017, allows for an up-to-date and accurate version of a women’s full health record, including scan reports, to be available digitally in one place.

This replaces old paper records, which women had to bring to each appointment.

Staff have said the new system has helped the trust to “enhance safety”.

Angela Whittaker, matron for acute maternity services and project lead, added: “[E3] has also reduced our reliance on paper documentation. The software has helped us to remove at least 20 paper-based forms from our process, replacing them with functions on E3 and we are now able to generate and send referral letters electronically.

“It is saving time and money, and it means the referral goes directly to the right clinician, helping us to maintain high levels of patient confidentiality. Women now have one record that can be accessed wherever they’re receiving care; whether that’s in our antenatal clinic, maternity day unit or a service out in the community.”

Future developments include the ability for women to see and input into their own record, as well as introducing a document management system and integrating E3 with other software systems in the trust.

Wellbeing Software’s account director, Ross Wade, said: “Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust is passionate about improving the maternity care they offer across the region.

“We’ve worked closely with the Trust to support the implementation of this digital initiative and make E3 really work for their service. I’m delighted that the benefits of our software are already being realised.”