Mums-to-be will be able to refer themselves to Maternity Services at Walsall Manor Hospital for their care and support thanks to a new approach that has been developed in partnership with Midwives in Wolverhampton.

This means that, from today (Monday 9 October), they no longer have to contact their GP – they can use the BadgerNet app to directly notify Maternity Services of their pregnancy. Their GP then receives a copy of the self-referral automatically, ensuring communication is maintained.

Fiona Morgan, Lead Digital Midwife at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, has been working with colleagues at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust which introduced this earlier in the summer to ensure the same opportunities at the Manor Hospital. In Wolverhampton, more than 500 mums-to-be had self-referred by August and they praised the “simple process.”

Fiona said: “We’re proud to be introducing this option here in Walsall and have worked closely with Wolverhampton to do so.

“We believe this new approach allows mums-to-be the chance to notify us as early as possible about their pregnancies so we can get the ball rolling on all the booking appointments they need and their screenings and scans are carried out in a timely manner. It also helps us to identify those pregnancies that are high risk so we can ensure that the most appropriate support is put in place.

“Judging by the feedback our Wolverhampton Midwives have had so far this has been well received and we see it as another way we can enhance and improve the Maternity Services we offer. It also means that our mums-to-be don’t have to keep repeating their information to each organisation they visit – there is just one record – and it helps us from a safeguarding perspective too as key information is shared appropriately across organisations.”

Click here to see how to self-refer https://www.badgernotes.net/SelfReferral/CareLocation/walsall and have a look at this short video that explains the new approach https://youtu.be/AP-Gr7sdkgw