Digital Midwifery
The RCM supports the use of electronic record keeping in maternity services and advocates for its usage to be supported with the right training for all maternity staff.
Supporting RCM members to work in a digital world
There remain vast disparities across the nations with the use of electronic health records, right now we continue to see a hybrid world. Somewhere between digital and written records, juggling between various aspects of maternity care. Significant advancements have been made and in 2024 we are much closer to the digital future that has been assured by NHS England, which aims that everyone will use electronic records by 2023/4. The RCM’s electronic records keeping guidance and audit tool was developed to support midwives and MSWs in adhering to best practices when using digital technology in clinical practice.
Using digital technology has reaped benefits for midwives, their colleagues, and the women in their care. It continues to improve the sharing of information and reduced burden of duplication and errors. Just as with more traditional forms of record keeping, maternity staff have a professional obligation to keep clear, accurate and timely records of the care given is paramount. Digital record keeping streamlines local and national data collection, supporting the delivery of safer care and improving women’s experience through pregnancy and beyond.
The RCM’s key principles for record keeping, to use in combination with the NMC record keeping code and local record keeping guidelines, are:
- Midwives and MSWs must receive appropriate training for the electronic record system used in their organisation. Each midwife or MSW is responsible for ensuring this is maintained and updated as required when the system is updated or changed.
- Midwives should ensure they are up to date with their Information Governance (IG) training and are aware of how to use the electronic record to support IG.
- Midwives and MSWs should audit their own records regularly in keeping with local guidance and be aware of data which is collected from the electronic system to ensure they support this collection.
- Midwives should be familiar with local business continuity procedures in case of faults, cyber-attacks, or downtime.
When used correctly, social media offers many benefits for midwives, student midwives, and Maternity Support Workers (MSWs). However, it is essential that midwives and student midwives adhere to the NMC Code and follow the NMC guidance on using social media responsibly to avoid jeopardisng their registration.
Student midwives must ensure their online conduct does not affect their ability to join the NMC register, while midwives must take care not to put their registration at risk. The NMC Code (paragraph 20.10) explicitly references the use of social media, reinforcing the responsibility to maintain professional standards online.
Additionally, midwives and student midwives have a professional duty to escalate concerns regarding inappropriate use of social media to safeguard professionalism and uphold public trust.
Key Papers
Each country has its own set of key strategic documents, policies and standards which has driven the digital transformation of maternity services. A brief overview of each has been outlined below:
Better Births Report
The Better Births report emphasises the need for digital transformation in NHS maternity services across England. Key aspects include:
- Digital Maturity Assessment: Evaluating current digital capabilities to guide localised service improvements.
- Interoperable Maternity Records: Ensuring seamless access to maternity records for all healthcare professionals at the point of care.
- Digital Maternity Records: Empowering women to take a leading role in their maternity care by providing direct access to their health information.
- Digital Tools: Enabling women to access their records and engage with their maternity care more effectively.
NHS Long Term Plan
The NHS Long Term Plan by NHS England outlines a vision to transform healthcare through digital innovation, improving patient outcomes, streamlining workflows, and supporting healthcare professionals in delivering safer, data-driven care. It aims to enhance maternity services by implementing interoperable electronic records, ensuring seamless communication between healthcare providers. A key goal was to ensure that by 2023/24, all birthing people have access to their pregnancy records via smartphones and digital devices, improving continuity of care.
The plan also seeks to integrate AI-driven decision support and data analysis to enhance service delivery while reducing administrative burdens on healthcare staff. Additionally, it aims to expand remote monitoring and digital support for psychological care in maternity services, empowering patients to take greater control of their health.
What Good Looks Like
The What Good Looks Like (WGLL) framework by NHS England provides a structured approach for assessing and improving digital maturity across health and care organisations. The framework has seven key success measures:
- Well-Led: ensuring strong leadership and governance to drive digital transformation
- Smart Foundations: which focus on secure, scalable, and modern IT infrastructure
- Safe Practice: ensuring digital solutions support clinical safety, interoperability, and data protection.
- Supporting People: by equipping staff with digital skills and training
- Empowering Citizens: enables patients to access and manage their health information through tools like the NHS App
- Improve Care: focuses on using digital solutions to enhance clinical decision-making and service delivery
- Healthy Populations: leverages data for proactive healthcare, prevention strategies, and reducing inequalities.
The framework assists NHS organisations to benchmark their digital capabilities, ensuring investment in technology translates into better patient outcomes, improved efficiency, and enhanced staff experiences.
Maternity and Neonatal Digital Network
The FutureNHS platform hosts the Maternity and Neonatal Digital Network platform which provides resources for individuals working in the NHS digital maternity and/or neonatal services in England. They provide a supportive community and a reliable source of up-to-date information, best practices, and shared learning. Content is specifically designed to meet the needs of those working within the digital maternity and neonatal space.
Digital Maternity Record Standard
The Digital Maternity Record Standard, developed by the PRSB and commissioned by NHS England, ensures maternity records are consistent, interoperable, and accessible across healthcare providers. Release 2, published in November 2024, aligns with NHS England’s three-year maternity and neonatal services plan, introducing key improvements such as enhanced interoperability for seamless data sharing, expanded data coverage including mental health and social care, and improved patient access allowing parents to view and update their records. It also standardises data formats to support better clinical decision-making and aligns with national reports like Better Births and Maternity and Neonatal Safety Improvement Programme. These updates enhance care quality, safety, and efficiency, leading to better outcomes for mothers and newborns.
A Health and Care Digital Capabilities Framework
The Health and Care Digital Capabilities Framework provides a structured guide for NHS trusts and organisations to support their workforce in developing digital skills and capabilities. Aligned with the NHS England Digital Strategy, the framework encourages positive attitudes towards digital transformation within the workforce.
It serves multiple purposes, including:
- Self-assessment of current digital skills
- Identifying learning and development needs
- Personal and professional development planning
- Reflection and goal setting
- Evaluating progress and performance
Digital Health and Care is led by the NHS Wales Special Health Authority (SHA) in partnership with the Welsh Government. The Digital Maternity Cymru initiative focuses on transforming maternity services through digital innovation, ensuring better access to care, improved patient outcomes, and enhanced clinical workflows.
The Digital Maternity Cymru programme aligns with the NHS Wales Digital Strategy 2024–2030. The strategy outlines plans for the digitalisation of healthcare across Wales; prioritising interoperability, patient-centred care, and data-driven decision-making, aiming to enhance healthcare delivery through the adoption of electronic records, AI-driven insights, and improved digital infrastructure.
The Best Start: Five-Year Plan for Maternity and Neonatal Care
The Best Start paper outlines NHS Scotland’s 5-year plan for transforming maternity services in Scotland. From a digital perspective; the plan advocates for the use of telehealth and telemedicine to enhance accessibility and continuity of care for birthing people and their families. A unified approach to electronic care records is proposed, aligning maternity services with the established neonatal care structure to ensure seamless information sharing across care settings. Additionally, the plan includes the development of a national data hub, which will streamline data collection for both neonatal and maternity services, supporting research, service planning, and quality improvement. A national Maternal and Perinatal Audit is also introduced to identify key challenges and areas for improvement, ensuring that services evolve based on evidence and best practices.
Digital & Data Capability Framework
The Digital & Data Capability Framework was developed by NHS Scotland to assist individuals who work in health and social care, to assist them in assessing their assessing and supporting them in their digital skills. The framework focusses on 6 capability areas: using technology, communication, handling information & data, learning & development, identity, safety & wellbeing, innovation & service improvement. Each capability area has 3 levels of differing digital capabilities, each level builds upon the next, increasing confidence and capabilities.
Enabling, Connecting and Empowering: Care in the Digital Age
Enabling, Connecting and Empowering: Care in the Digital Age is Scotland’s digital health and care strategy led in collaboration with the Scottish Government, COSLA (Convention of Scottish Local Authorities), and NHS Scotland. The strategy outlines the digital technology which will be used in the digital transformation of health and care services in Scotland.
It aims to empower individuals, enhance access to services, support staff with digital tools, promote data-driven decision-making, and ensure digital inclusion. For maternity services, this includes the rollout of digital maternity records, use of video consultations, improved data sharing, and support for personalised, digitally enabled care across Scotland.
eHealth and Care Strategy for Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland has adopted a unified, country-wide approach to digital transformation. The initial plans for this transformation were outlined in the eHealth and Care Strategy for Northern Ireland, which served as the foundational document for digital transformation in the region. It detailed how eHealth could be leveraged across various healthcare settings to enhance information sharing, leading to better decision-making and improved patient outcomes by 2020. The strategy focused on four key areas: integrated digital health records, public-facing services, data analytics and innovation, and mobile and remote working.
Digital Strategy Health and Social Care Northern Ireland
The Digital Strategy Health and Social Care Northern Ireland 2022-2030, builds on the foundations of the eHealth and Care Strategy for Northern Ireland. The strategy was developed to further drive digital innovation in health and social care. It aims to empower individuals, support healthcare professionals, and enhance the safety and quality of services through digital advancements.
