Helping our patients who are PREGNANT to get the best from the practice, the NHS and other resources you might find useful
Terms highlighted in RED are key words that you should find in your own medical record. Staff are highlighted in BLUE. Equipment is highlighted in GREEN.
You may ask why? The most recent patient survey has shown that patients want to be able to see the clinician sooner (ie less than 2 weeks) and on time (ie not have to wait an hour for a scheduled appointment) and feel that all their concerns have been met. It has been independently confirmed that the practice already offers more appointments than the average to its patients.
So how can we meet the demand? Being prepared for the consultation greatly helps as does recognising the length of the appointment slot and helping the clinician to stay within the time limit.
You may ask how? There are some simple steps that are essential for you to understand, that will help you on your journey of discovery for your health and well-being:
What do you need to see in your record? Pregnancy is not a condition but a normal part of life. So this page is to help you and your fetus get the best start in life. Ideally this means that you read these pages even before you decide to try for a baby as there are many things you can and should do before you even start to try to conceive. At this stage, your GP-held electronic health record should say Trying to conceive. Once you do find yourself pregnant, your GP-held electronic health record should say Patient Pregnant. If you are not sure whether you want to continue with the pregnancy then you must ring 0161-367-8800. You do not need to wait to see the doctor or the midwife to access this service.
What does that mean? Here are some links for pregnancy that you may wish to see:
What help is available for you to use? Pregnancy is primarily managed by the midwives under a shared care scheme with the doctors in the practice.
The pharmacist knows exactly what medication or over the counter remedies are safe and what is not. Ask if you are not sure.
The websites listed above will give you lots of information to help you get to a flying start and help you to ask the questions that matter to you when you see your midwife or doctor. (Please let us know if you find other resources that our patients could benefit from).
What does pregancy mean for you? This is easier said than done. Every pregnancy and every baby is very unique. Even before you try to conceive it is important that you modify your lifestyle and check what you can and should take and what you should not. If you are on prescription medication or taking over the counter remedies including certain painkillers or perhaps herbal remedies then it is important to check whether it is safe to take these when you are pregnant. Often you and your partner will go through a multitude of emotions and experiences as soon as you find out that you are pregnant. Sometimes you may be confused and want to speak to a trained professional who can understand your needs better especially if you do not think you are ready for a baby just yet. You need to know that you do have time to make decisions and there are always choices and help available for you to make them.
What needs to happen now and in the future? The typical pregnant person needs the following:
Whilst most people wish to carry on with the pregnancy, some people may not. It is important to try to clarify this.
Regular appointments with the midwife in the practice with some in the hospital at appropriate times. Your midwife will keep you informed.
During the appointments, your midwife will do routine blood pressure checks, urine tests and check for any ongoing issues or new problems as and when they arise.
What can you do to help? As this is a new way of working, it is worth discussing this with the midwife to see how this can be
Get access to your GP-held record. Without knowing what is in your records and what you need to do, it will be very hard to know what to do when and with who. This is an essential first step for anybody with any condition or who wants the best from the practice.
Bring your blood pressure readings with you to show to the nurse or doctor if you have been checking them at home. Ideally these will be registered in HealthSpace (www.healthspace.nhs.uk). You may also have a lot of appointments which you need to be reminded of. Again HealthSpace can send you reminders via e-mail if you put them in there.
Look at the web page – pre-consultation care – and go through it prior to your review with the clinician. This can help us to understand your needs better and what you want out of the consultation.
How are we doing? The Quality Outcomes Framework was set up so that practices can look at how successful they are in delivering services to their practice population and also give an opportunity to see how we compare with others around the country. This data is readily available from here (www.qof.ic.nhs.uk/search.asp). Overall we got 996 points out of a maximum of 1000 last year indicating that we are a very high performing practice across the board which is reassuring for you and us. Whilst pregnancy is not part of the Quality and Outcomes Framework, we are still keen to provide an excellent service for our patients. It is hard to compare experiences especially as your pregnancy is a very unique experience. However we would welcome any thoughts you may have on how we can see how we are doing and perhaps even how we might be able to compare with other practices too. Your midwife would also be keen to hear your views and perhaps some of the things they are doing to ensure the service continues to be to an excellent standard.
How can you help us do even better and help other patients too? This is very important. In your journey of discovery about your health, you may come across odd things that do not make sense about the way the practice runs and you may have a better suggestion. Or you may come across something new that we have not considered that helps you even more. Tell us about it next time you see a clinician or preferably write it down and hand it in or send it as a comment to the Patient Participation Group (PPG) so that they can bring it up with the practice the next time we meet up. Even better, why don’t you join the PPG and become an active member. We are always on the look out for new members and new ideas.
Whilst pregnancy is a normal condition and not an illness, there are aspects of care that we need to make sure are happening. By seeing what you should expect by reading high quality information from sites such as NHS Choices and Mom-e.com, and comparing it with what you actually receive by looking at your own GP-held electronic health record, you should be able to confirm that you are getting high quality care.
Most importantly, by working together and understanding each other’s needs better, we can help you to get the best out of the practice and the wider NHS.
Click here to see the latest guidance from Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and how they are supporting parents and mums and dads to be. Packed with lots of useful information about your local hospital and what they are doing to help you!
0161 336 3005
