Triage Services in Maternity
Dear Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust,
1. Does your trust have a telephone triage helpline in maternity for women to raise pregnancy-related concerns before attending hospital?
If yes please answer the following questions :
a. Do midwives use any particular tools for example prioritisation included in the EPR – electronic patient record system?
b. Are the telephone triage telephone lines staffed by midwives?
c. If yes – how many midwives staff the triage helpline?
d. For staff running the telephone triage line – what training and support is given?
e. Is the telephone triage service run within the local ambulance call handling hub? If No are there plans to incorporate?
2. Is there a dedicated environment for maternity triage located next to the maternity unit?
3. When women are admitted to maternity triage – is there a target for women to be seen within x minutes ? - please state the target
4. Have any of the above measures been implemented since the CQC of National review of maternity services in England 2022 to 2024
Yours faithfully,
Mrs Susan Pickup
Dear Requestor
I acknowledge receipt of your request as below seeking information about the Trust. Thank you for your interest in the Trust.
We are now assessing your request to determine whether we hold the information requested, and to estimate the effort required to locate, retrieve and extract it. Provided that we hold the information and the estimate does not exceed the appropriate limit of £450, then I shall endeavour to collate the information for you and forward it on within 20 working days, in accordance with the Trust’s Publication Scheme guidance under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Please note the Data Protection statement at the end of this email. If you have any concerns about the Trust recording your contact details securely in our database, please contact me to discuss the arrangements.
If you have any queries in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Data Protection Statement:
Your contact details will be recorded and maintained securely on a database, together with details of your request and the response we give to you. This database is solely for the Trust’s internal use by staff with a need to know. Your contact details will not be transferred outside the Trust.
Best regards
Carole Sheppard
Freedom of Information Team
Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
___________________________________________
[Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust request email]
Great Western Hospital
Marlborough Road
Swindon
SN3 6BB
Good Morning Mrs Pickup
Thank you for your email of 18 November 2024. The Trust's response to your request is as follows:
1. Does your trust have a telephone triage helpline in maternity for women to raise pregnancy-related concerns before attending hospital? Yes
If yes please answer the following questions :
a. Do midwives use any particular tools for example prioritisation included in the EPR - electronic patient record system? Yes - the Birmingham Symptom-specific Obstetric Triage System (BSOTS)
b. Are the telephone triage telephone lines staffed by midwives? Yes, the triage phone is staffed 24/7 by a Midwife
c. If yes - how many midwives staff the triage helpline? 1
d. For staff running the telephone triage line - what training and support is given? Completion of BSOTS training
e. Is the telephone triage service run within the local ambulance call handling hub? No If No are there plans to incorporate? No
2. Is there a dedicated environment for maternity triage located next to the maternity unit? Yes
3. When women are admitted to maternity triage - is there a target for women to be seen within x minutes - Yes - please state the target - 15 to 30 minutes in line with BSOTS
4. Have any of the above measures been implemented since the CQC of National review of maternity services in England 2022 to 2024 - Yes
If you are dissatisfied with the way your request has been handled, you can request an internal review by writing to me at the above address within two months of the date of this email. If you are still dissatisfied after an internal review, you can apply to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) for an independent review. The ICO will normally accept such applications only where they have already been through the Trust's internal review process. The ICO's address is:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF
If you need any further assistance in this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely
Carole Sheppard
Freedom of Information Team
Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Great Western Hospital
Marlborough Road
Swindon SN3 6BB
E: [email address]
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