Maternity Triage Unit to get £100,000 upgrade
IMPROVEMENTS: A member of staff in the unit
By Simon Bristow, Co-Editor
Hull’s Maternity Triage Unit is to undergo a £100,000 upgrade to offer advice and assessment of concerns during pregnancy and early labour.
The Maternity Triage Unit, which opened in 2023 and sees up to 70 patients a day, is an important first step for anyone with a concern or emergency and offers a 24-hour service, seven days a week, to investigate concerns such as reduced foetal movements, bleeding or abdominal pain.
Now, the unit on the ground floor of Hull Women and Children’s Hospital, is creating a further clinical room, an accessible toilet and a separate entrance and exit to offer a more sensitive service for parents-to-be.
Angela Rymer, Maternity Matron at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital, said: “In the past, anyone experiencing problems during pregnancy would have had to go to our Emergency Department but our Maternity Triage Unit means they’ve got access to specialist maternity support, 24 hours a day.
“They’ll come into our unit, be seen in our assessment area and then redirected to our antenatal unit for follow-up appointments, the labour ward, emergency services or back home, whichever is appropriate.
“The new door into and out of the unit also means families receiving bad news will not have to walk through a packed waiting room so we can offer a more appropriate service to them as well.”
Wendy McKenzie, Charge Midwife for antenatal care at the hospital, is based next to the unit, allowing easy access for staff who may require support with patients.
She said: “People come into the unit and sit in our reception area before they’re redirected to our green or red bays. The red bay has curtained cubicles while green bay has seats where people can be monitored. There’s also an initial triage room so we can best determine how to help someone.
“The new clinical room is an excellent addition to the facilities and is somewhere for our staff to have personal conversations with patients, allowing them the time and space to understand what is happening to them and how we can help.”
Maternity triage services were introduced following a Ockenden Maternity Review of services across England in 2022.
Hull’s new expanded unit is in line with recommendations by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) to give parents-to-be privacy and access to urgent, 24-hour assessments which act as an emergency gateway for anyone with pregnancy concerns or concerns up to six weeks after giving birth.