The facility at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital is a first point of contact for anyone with a concern or emergency during pregnancy
Hull’s Maternity Triage Unit is undergoing a £100,000 upgrade(Image: NHS Humber Health Partnership)
Hull’s Maternity Triage Unit is undergoing a £100,000 upgrade. The service offers advice and assessment for concerns throughout pregnancy and early labour.
The Maternity Triage Unit, which opened in 2023 and treats up to 70 patients daily, serves as a vital first port of call for anyone with a concern or emergency, providing round-the-clock care, seven days a week, to assess issues including reduced foetal movements, bleeding or abdominal pain. The unit, located on the ground floor of Hull Women and Children’s Hospital, is now adding another clinical room, an accessible toilet and a separate entrance and exit to provide a more sensitive service.
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, works adjacent to the unit, ensuring staff can readily access support when needed for 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 the Ockenden Maternity Review of services across England in 2022.
Hull’s newly expanded unit aligns with recommendations set out by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), designed to provide expectant parents with privacy and access to round-the-clock urgent assessments, serving as an emergency gateway for anyone with concerns during pregnancy or up to six weeks following childbirth.
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