Digital midwives lead on transformational change.”
Victoria Mustafa, South West London Maternity Digital Lead and Programme Manager
“Digital midwives lead on transformational change,” said Victoria Mustafa, South West London Maternity Digital Lead and Programme Manager, “we are clinicians, but despite what we get asked we don’t deliver babies over the internet!”
Within each maternity service at our hospitals, you will find a Digital Midwife working to digitise patient records, notes and systems. This work enables healthcare professionals to safely and securely access, manage and share information as part of a multi-disciplinary team so that they can make informed, timely decisions about patient care. This will also make medical records, information and resources more readily available to women.
At Epsom and St Helier, where women are externally monitored to assess the babies heart rate, the data is now captured digitally instead of a paper print out. This ensures clinicians can access real time data both on and offsite. Digital Midwives also make sure all data that is captured locally flows into national data sets to ensure safety is upheld as part of the maternity incentive scheme for trusts.
Another important role that Victoria has is to monitor trusts as they work towards achieving the national targets. One of these targets is ensuring continuity of carer for 75% of women from Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities and from the most deprived areas by March 2024. Through Digital Midwives capturing data at each trust, Victoria is able to guide trusts as they work towards meeting this Core20Plus5 priority, supporting our work to reduce health inequalities.
Victoria, who is on secondment to NHS South West London from Epsom and St Helier, explained that previously the Digital Midwives each worked individually until the team at South West London appointed a lead across the system who was able to help steer the group together in a more informal manner. At first, collaboration started with a WhatsApp group, then meeting in person at conferences, and then Victoria invited all the Digital Midwives to come together at NHS South West London head office in Wimbledon to work together for a day.
Victoria said, “At first, they were nervous and didn’t know it was possible to come here to work, but when they did they really enjoyed the experience. They found it really helpful to spend time away from their usual desk and phone. Each time we are here, we designate time to share experiences so that we can learn from each other and try to ensure we only do things once across the system instead of four separate ways.”
This style of collaborative working has already made it possible for each trusts’ Digital Midwife in South West London to contribute to the development of the first digital maternity strategy and three-year plan.
Meet the team
Photo from left to right:
- Victoria Mustafa, South West London Maternity Programme Manager and Digital Midwife, NHS South West London
- Mel Denis, Digital Midwife, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust
- Zoe Marezana, Digital Midwife, St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Amanda Moules, Digital Midwife, Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Sam Page, Maternity Data Manager, Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Not pictured – Molly Davis, Digital Midwife, Croydon Health Services NHS Trust