At the British Journal of midwifery awards, an NHS Digital run group of midwives won an award for ‘Use of Technology in Midwifery’.
More than 100 NHS trusts across Britain are represented by the 200 digital midwives from The Digital Midwife Expert Reference Group. They embrace technology and work together to deliver better, safer and more effective care.
The group of midwives have been a network and resource for pregnancy and birth since 2018, when the Digital Maternity programme at NHS Digital created the initiative.
The group is the best place to go for guidance and is the only one of its kind. Their experience in driving digital maturity makes them the best place to go to for support.
Julia Gudgeon, NHS Digital’s Clinical Informatics Lead in the Digital Maternity Team, said: “We’re delighted to win this award, which recognises the efforts of this fantastic network of digital midwives who have (for the first time) given us a clear understanding of the digital landscape across England’s maternity services.
“National organisations are now being given clear direction by the group on what they want to see in the future, so these once unknown midwives are changing and driving our digital future.
“It is down to digital midwives that the NHS is able to make use of the technologies we are introducing. They are laying out the runway, so that we can land new technology that is useful, usable and used.”
The Digital Maternity team worked with the group in 2018, and helped the midwives across 20 pilot sites provide easy-to-access electronic records so that pregnant women could see their medical records whenever they wanted to.
The group’s work has been absolutely outstanding and has even been showcased within the Long Term Plan. The success of the programme was attributed to a unified approach as well as strong digital leadership.
Roger Carter, Programme Manager for the Digital Maternity Programme at NHS Digital, said: “Over the last 18 months, the role of a “Digital Midwife” has evolved greatly. No longer working in isolation, the group has developed a national voice, which is empowered to deliver on the Long Term Plan.
“The broad purpose is to make real the digital recommendations within Better Births and the Long Term Plan as an enabler for safer, more personalised, kinder, professional and family friendly maternity care.”
Article source: https://digital.nhs.uk/news-and-events/latest-news/digital-midwives-award
