New digital maternity system launches

3 October 2023

Maternity service users in Bristol will benefit from a new system launched at hospitals across University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) and North Bristol Trust (NBT).

In a bid to transform how maternity service users access their pregnancy information, both UHBW and NBT have implemented the Badger Notes online portal and app.

Badger Notes sees the replacement of yellow notes folders with an app that provides access to digitised records. This allows users to:

  • See a week-by-week timeline of their pregnancy.
  • Access reading recommended by their Midwife.
  • View maternity leaflets.
  • View booked appointments and information direct from their medical record.

The Badger Notes app is fully interactive so service users can also submit questions about antenatal care, the birth plan, and postnatal care to review with their midwife.

Service users will be offered the Badger Notes app, and those who wish to remain using physical paper notes will be able to do so.

Sarah Windfeld, Director of Midwifery and Nursing at UHBW, said:

“We’re very pleased to be able to offer the digital Badger Notes system to our maternity services users at UHBW. This is a well-established system that will complement service users’ experiences as they move through their pregnancy journey. It will also support our colleagues by filing information and maternity records in one place, stream-lining processes.

“We want to ensure all our maternity service users are supported and will ensure those who do not have easy access to the app/technology remain on the traditional, paper route, so no one is left behind.”

Diane Dorrington, Deputy Head of Midwifery at NBT, said:

“Introducing Badger Notes brings many benefits for people using our maternity services.

“It will ensure women and people who are pregnant have easy access to their information in a similar way to how they manage other aspects of their life, while also helping to create more seamless care across our services and the wider region.”

Cheryl Baines, Interim Lead at Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Maternity Voices Partnership, said:

“I’m excited for the launch of Badger Notes. Having pregnancy notes available on service users’ phones, plus the ability to easily interact with their Midwife using the app, should be a big help.”

More information about the service can be found on on the UBHW or NBT website.