People who’ve used our dedicated maternity triage service have praised the care and advice they received.
Anyone with medical concerns in pregnancy from 16 weeks can ring the helpline and be assessed by a midwife. Following a telephone consultation, those who need to be seen will be invited in for further consultation and a period of assessment at Grimsby and Scunthorpe hospitals.
There are dedicated triage areas on Jasmine Ward and Ward 26 for people to be seen. More than 14,000 people have used the helpline since it launched in October 2022 and nearly 2,500 have been seen face-to-face since the triage areas launched in October 2023.
Abby Gibbons used the service twice when she was pregnant. Both times she rang the helpline and attended Grimsby hospital.
She said: “The first time I rang the helpline, I spoke to the team as I had a complication and they advised I come in to get checked out. They did an examination and everything was fine. I was only in there an hour and it was good to have that peace of mind. The second time was when my waters broke early.
“The service overall was amazing. You do start to panic in situations like that and they calm you down. The care I received was excellent and it’s great having a port of call to get in touch with.”
The following list is examples of things people would need to come in for:
- Reduced foetal movements
- Hypertension
- Blood pressure assessment
- Abdominal pain
- Suspected rupture of membranes (waters broke)
- Vaginal bleeding
- Feeling unwell or any other concern
- Postnatal/query labour.
Shannon Trucko used the service twice at Scunthorpe when she was pregnant.
She said: “I rang the helpline with a medical complication and they asked me questions and told me to pop over. They took my blood pressure and checked me over. From ringing to being seen, it only took about four hours. I have also previously used the helpline for some advice. It’s a lot easier than what was in place before and it puts your mind at ease having a service like this.”
Natalie Jenkin, Divisional Governance Lead for Family Services, said: “We’re really pleased to be able to offer this service. It’s improved safety as we can triage people and they’re prioritised based on risk. Before we had this service, people would ring the delivery suites but they wouldn’t be able to speak to a dedicated midwife, it would just be whichever midwife was available on the ward.”
If you’ve used our maternity triage service, please complete this survey so we can continue to make improvements.