Midwifery leaders have outlined the numerous technical challenges facing maternity care as the NHS implements its 10 year health plan.

Jacqui Cooper, chief nursing information officer for Health Innovation Manchester and NHS Greater Manchester, said that Greater Manchester is exploring a “minimum maternity data set” via shared care records so that all healthcare professionals, including obstetricians and midwives, have the data needed to deliver high quality care.

“Maternity is in the spotlight, as it absolutely should be, and we’re looking for solutions to put us in a better, safer place for women,” Cooper said.

She added that the back end of the system is “only as good as the data that we put in in the front end of the system” and said that midwives currently face “a plethora of systems”.

“When we talk about the importance of data, we must work harder for our midwifery colleagues and our neonatal colleagues to make sure that they have a single source of truth,” she said.

Overcoming variations in digital skills will also take time and effort, according to Jo Witchard, lead digital midwife at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, adding that some specialist groups within maternity lacked confidence in their digital skills and had struggled to transition from paper processes.

“The younger workforce who have grown up with touchscreens are much more digitally adept, and as they start building and becoming part of the leadership, it will be a lot easier,” Witchard added.

“The important thing here is using it safely. Digital is an enabler, so we need to make sure that our people are on board.

“Ultimately, we are accountable for the care that we’re providing,” she said.