New Obstetric Triage System launched across the NHS
Teams at our Women’s Hospital have played a huge part in developing a pioneering maternity triage system, which is now available to maternity teams across the UK.
The Birmingham Symptom-specific Obstetric Triage System (BSOTS) has been developed by clinicians and researchers from the West Midlands and has recently been launched for the first time, becoming readily available across the country.
Midwives, obstetricians, and doctors across our NHS can now access the Birmingham programme and training materials online for free via the Meridian Health Innovation Exchange.
There is no standardised triage system in maternity care but BSOTS is looking to change that by assessing women presenting themselves with unexpected pregnancy-related problems or concerns and then allocating a colour code, so staff can see at a glance who needs to be prioritised.
Developed collaboratively between our Trust and University of Birmingham, supported by the West Midlands Academic Health Science Network (WMAHSN) and MidTECH Innovation, it was established to provide a standardised method of safely and efficiently assessing women when they attend with unexpected clinical concerns.
An initial early evaluation showed that BSOTS increased the number of women seen within 15 minutes of attendance to maternity triage from 38% to 53% and the system also appeared to reduce the time between attendance to medical review for those who required it.
BSOTS has been adopted by 34 maternity units in the UK with a further 20 in the process of implementation and 17 awaiting training. Sunshine Hospital in Victoria, Australia, is the first international maternity unit to implement it and there’s interest from others across the globe.
Rachel Carter, Deputy Chief Nurse and Head of Midwifery at our Women’s Hospital said: “Our maternity team have been privileged to have had a pivotal role in such an inspirational project that is changing care provision and improving safety in relation to this key ‘front door’ element of our care. We are excited to see the impact of the national roll out, implementing this consistent approach to prioritising women’s care needs in the maternity triage setting.”
To find out more about BSOTS visit the Meridian Health Innovation Exchange website.