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Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) comprises of the Queen’s Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital, providing services to over 2.5 million residents in Nottingham and surrounding areas. NUH currently handles more than one million patient visits annually, including 1.2 million outpatient appointments and over 200,000 emergency attendances.
NUH provides maternity care, where they welcome over 7,500 babies into the world each year. The team support the full journey to parenthood from conception until the baby arrives, including midwifery-led birthing units and specialised neonatal care. NUH also provide Maternity and Neonatal care as well as a specialist Early Pregnancy and Acute Gynaecology Unit (EPAGU) which saw over 16,000 visits in 2024 alone.
NUH has been benefitting from System C’s BadgerNet Maternity solution since November 2022, and in August 2023, the team started looking at how they can expand the solution to enhance the overall patient journey, communication and operational efficiency between their Early Pregnancy and Maternity Departments.
The Early Pregnancy and Acute Gynaecology Unit at NUH is dedicated to treating emergencies in the early stages of pregnancy, including those who may be experiencing early complications or people who may have a history of pregnancy loss. It is therefore crucial that the EPAGU team are able to focus on supporting those in their care, ensuring clinical safety throughout pregnancy.
With the EPAGU departments within NUH still being heavily reliant on paper-based documentation, the team are facing multiple challenges in being able to deliver the level of care they want to. One of the biggest challenges is simply the lack of communication between the Maternity and Early Pregnancy and Acute Gynaecology departments. Without a digital system in place in the EPAGU, there are instances of miscommunication which often lead to patients being contacted without updated information. Given the sensitive nature of the department, this is creating unnecessary and uncomfortable situations for both clinicians and patients.
This communication issue is further impacted by logistical challenges. With the Triage Office and the Early Pregnancy department sitting in different locations within the hospital, nurses are having to travel down two flights of stairs to be able to receive the latest documentation, causing further delays.
This reliance on paper-based processes also poses further challenges around reporting and information security.
To bridge the gaps in communication and create a seamless flow of information for both patients and staff, the team at NUH decided to look at how digitising their processes could further support them in delivering the best patient care.
They started their procurement journey by ensuring there was the involvement of midwives, nurses, doctors and service staff who work within the Early Pregnancy and Gynaecology unit, in identifying the essential features required for the system. This strong clinical representation was key to ensuring that the system’s capabilities aligned with the practical needs of the teams who would be using it day-to-day.
A well-crafted business case, written with input from those on the ground, was instrumental in the team successfully securing funding for the new system.
The team at NUH decided to select the BadgerNet EPAGU system as their preferred choice as it is the only electronic record solution designed specifically for Early Pregnancy and Acute Gynaecology Units. By implementing the system, NUH would be able to record early pregnancy and gynaecology interactions in real-time for both outpatients and admissions, extending their BadgerNet paperless electronic patient health record. In addition, information recorded in BadgerNet EPAGU would become available in their BadgerNet Maternity solution via a PDF summary of events and communications.
Given the already strong partnership with System C, NUH were confident the solution would allow them to share information seamlessly between departments, providing clinicians with further visibility of the care which the individual has already received, promoting continuity of care between units.
“We're really hoping that getting early pregnancy [EPAGU] on to BadgerNet will improve communication. It means that the maternity staff know where to go to find out the information prior to contacting the patient and limiting any potential upset. Being able to access the actual documentation, specifically at the booking appointment, of any early pregnancy care is going to be really helpful. We won’t have to ask those horrible questions that risk making patients feel awkward or upset, we will be able to actually just access the information directly in the system.”
Nikki McPhee, Digital Midwife at NUH
Once fully implemented and integrated with BadgerNet Maternity, BadgerNet EPAGU will enable clinicians to access real-time patient information at the bedside via an iPad. This will enable the seamless sharing of information between departments and removes the need for nurses to be travelling throughout the hospital to get the latest information, reducing the potential for uncomfortable conversations between patients and clinicians.
The implementation of EPAGU at NUH is set to significantly improve reporting and workflow efficiencies once it goes live. With the integration of results reporting, staff will be able to view test results directly within the system, enhancing diagnostic efficiency.
EPAGU's paper-light operations are expected to raise efficiencies and improve data security.
Additionally, the system will support NEWS and GEWS scoring and include standard interfaces such as Labs, ultrasound, PAS, and Electronic Document Transfer (EDT). This comprehensive integration will allow NUH staff to optimise their workflows without needing to switch between different systems, ultimately aiming to improve the quality of patient care.
System C is working closely with the NUH team to support the successful implementation, including regular meetings to discuss progress and key milestones and providing training to those who will be using the system.
Our EPAGU clinical transformation lead takes pride in supporting sites during the implementation of BadgerNet EPAGU, support in process mapping, configuration, providing training, fostering clinical engagement & supporting throughout the journey from kick off to "go live" and all the way through to BAU.
“The fact that System C are so responsive is just fabulous. I don't think there's another system that we use here at this hospital where we work so closely with the supplier.”
Nikki McPhee, Digital Midwife at NUH
BadgerNet EPAGU recently went live in December 2024, and the NUH team are excited for the benefits it will bring to both clinicians and patients.
For clinicians, BadgerNet EPAGU will provide significant time-savings, allowing them to spend more time attending to patients. Thanks to the new interfaces with wider hospital systems and linking BadgerNet Maternity and EPAGU, staff will no longer need to search for a free computer, log in, and navigate multiple systems. Instead, they will be able to access all necessary information from anywhere, including directly from an iPad at the bedside. This is a benefit NUH have already seen in the Maternity department, where staff appreciate improved workflows thanks to BadgerNet Maternity.
“We're really excited for the wealth of interfaces. BadgerNet, as a system, interfaces with our PAS and labs so we can get our pathology, micro results and our viewpoint scans, into the record. I can tell you they make an absolute, key difference for all the nurses, doctors and midwives in their working day.”
Nikki McPhee, Digital Midwife at NUH
For NUH patients, the addition of BadgerNet EPAGU will mean a more consistent and supportive experience throughout their journey, with all information and processes centralised in one platform. It will mean that they can be confident that those treating them fully understand the history of their pregnancy and save them from having to repeat information when attending different departments, ultimately leading to more personalised care.
NUH will further advance their digital systems for women's and children's units by implementing the BadgerNet Neonatal EPR in 2025. This strategic move will unify all perinatal care within the trust under a single, cohesive system.
To delve deeper in BadgerNet EPAGU, watch our on-demand webinar where Nikki McPhee Digital Midwife at NUH talks about the trust’s experience and anticipated go-live. Additionally, you can learn more about our Early Pregnancy and Gynaecology Unit (EPAGU) system and its benefits in our fact sheet and benefits calculator. If you have any questions or require further information, please don’t hesitate to contact your account manager or fill in the contact us form today.
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