Maternity staff in North Wales have started using an NHS Wales-developed system to improve how they are recording pre- and post-pregnancy information to help provide better care.

Midwives, support workers, obstetric doctors and other relevant staff working on or within the maternity wards access the new maternity module available on the Myrddin Patient Administration System on a daily basis to record and view information.

"The introduction of this system now allows us to collect data more accurately, this data can then be collected into reports capturing the specific information required for each user, both on a national and local level," says North Wales midwife, Sarah Aston. "We now also have the option for medical and family history to be visible to other clinicians which can be especially useful in emergencies."

Other midwives say the recording of patient contacts using the new system is more practical. For instance, previously only pregnant women were recorded.  Now all patient contacts are logged providing a more accurate reflection of maternity caseload and contacts. They also say the system is helping manage pathways for high risk women, where relevant staff will be able to see which healthcare journey these women are taking and ensure that the services they need are in place for them.

Aston says that the ease of using the maternity module has significantly reduced the time and manpower required to collect this data, returning valuable clinical hours back to staff.

Maternity staff who work in Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board in North Wales and Powys are not the only ones in Wales benefiting from the system. Staff in Hywel Dda and Abertawe Bro Morgannwg also use the maternity module. 

The new all-Wales Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) is now live throughout Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, including microbiology, blood sciences and histology departments.

It is the first histology department in Wales to go live.

Cwm Taf and Hywel Dda health boards sent representatives who were on site to offer support and gain valuable experience for their future histology go lives.  

"The hours of detailed planning really paid off," Betsi Cadwaladr's Pathology Clinical Program Group Interim Chief of Staff Dr David Fletcher said. "I am extremely grateful to my NHS Wales colleagues and Intersystems for delivering a single clinical IT system for all Pathology services across North Wales, which will be the foundation supporting our service transformation programme."

The new LIMS is now live in five out of seven health boards: Betsi Cadwaladr, Cwm Taf, Hywel Dda, Aneurin Bevan and Cardiff and Vale.