Three south west trusts to launch BadgerNet maternity system

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust and Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust have announced plans to digitise their maternity services with System C’s BadgerNet maternity system.

The three hospitals, which form the Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Acute Hospital Alliance (BSW AHA), are planning to deliver a unified pregnancy record in the region.

Around 10,000 women and pregnant people across the region will be able to access their pregnancy records through the Badger Notes app or portal.

Both Salisbury and Bath, which will go live in February 2025 and June 2025 respectively, will transition from a dual paper and digital notes system to a fully digital system.

Staff at the trusts will be able to access the BadgerNet single neonatal record that is used in 99.9% of neonatal units across the UK.

This is aimed to ensure that staff have immediate access to pregnancy records, therefore enhancing patient experience and providing more informed care.

Clare Gilliland, digital lead midwife at Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS FT, said: “We’re looking forward to being able to use System C’s BadgerNet system to provide greater joined up care for our women and pregnant people.

“We were particularly interested in community functions as our midwives will be able to view the records offline in the event of no signal or wi-fi in the family home and reconnect when signal becomes available”.

Community midwives will also benefit as the system enables real-time recording of all events wherever they occur, so they are not duplicating information or missing key details back at the hospital.

Guy Lucchi, managing director of healthcare at System C, said: “Uniting records across the region marks a significant milestone for the local healthcare services and the people they serve.

“It’s been great to collaborate with the three trusts, one of which is also using System C’s CareFlow electronic patient record system, to enable the transition to a fully digitised service.

“We look forward to supporting them on their journey to transforming healthcare experiences and establishing seamless care connections across the region.”

In May 2024, the three trusts announced plans to implement a shared EPR, which will be delivered by Oracle Health, with NHS England providing investment to support the trusts in preparation for a go live in 2026.

Meanwhile, the BadgerNet maternity system was rolled out at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust in June 2024.