New way to self-refer for midwifery care at Northampton General Hospital

Northampton General Hospital have introduced a new way for patients to refer themselves into maternity care when they become pregnant.

It involves a pioneering new online electronic referral system – thought to be one of the first of its kind in the country. Those referring themselves to the maternity teams complete simple online form for the hospitals midwives to assess.

From Monday 28 February the new system will help ensure newly pregnant patients get the right care and support from the very start of their pregnancy journey.

The new online referral form is an extra way in which we can take more details from those self-registering, right away. It doesn’t replace the other ways of being referred but does help us to better support newly pregnant patients as soon as possible if they use it.

The form takes about 15 minutes to complete and you need to have ready at hand your full name, date of birth, address, email address, mobile phone number and NHS number. If you don’t know your NHS number you can find it online https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/online-services/find-nhs-number/ – but it should be on any letters you may have received from your GP or other NHS services.

For example it ensures that if a patient has any medical conditions which may put them at a higher risk during their pregnancy, such a deep vein thrombosis and certain blood-born conditions, the case is flagged for greater support from the very start.

After you have filled in the form you will receive a letter with a date for your first scan at between 12 and 14 weeks of pregnancy and a midwife will be in touch to arrange your first appointment with our team.

The new referral form has been developed with feedback from the Northamptonshire Maternity Voices Partnership. We would like to thank all of those involved in creating this new referral process.

What you need to do:

To use the new system visit: www.northamptongeneral.nhs.uk/Services/Our-Clinical-Services-and-Departments/Obstetrics-and-Gynaecology/Maternity/Maternity.aspx