The Welsh Government has announced it will be investing £7 million in a digital system for country-wide maternity services, with the aim of improving the care that women and their babies receive.

At present, Welsh health boards use different systems, some digital and some paper-based. The new system will mean that important information about the health of pregnant women and their unborn babies will be easily shared with all those involved in their care. Women will also be able to gain access to their own records if necessary.

The system is set to become available across the country over the next two to three years. Once rolled out, it will allow pregnant patients digital access to their maternity notes via the NHS Wales App – which is currently still in development.

“Several recent reviews of maternity services in Wales and indeed in the UK have called for the creation of a unified digital system,” said health minister, Eluned Morgan, who announced the programme. “[The new system] will give women much more control over their maternity records and allow them to feedback to midwives and doctors much faster, via an app that will have records of all their discussions with health professionals.”

“During the course of their pregnancy, women will see several different midwives and doctors sometimes across different health boards, so having one all-Wales digital system will make the journey much smoother,” said Sue Tranka, chief nursing officer for Wales. 

“It will also reduce bureaucracy and duplication, freeing up more time for those health professionals to focus on people. Via the App we will be able to send pregnant women health advice and reminders for things like getting flu jabs, as well as important personal medical messages.”