Maternity Triage

Our Maternity Triage assessment unit at Sherwood provides 24/7 maternity triage and care from 20 weeks of your pregnancy and up to 28 days after the birth of your baby. 

Before 20 weeks’ of pregnancy if you have an urgent concern regarding your pregnancy please contact your GP, NHS 111 or your nearest A&E department.

We offer telephone advice to women and community healthcare providers.

Please call the unit to discuss any concerns and we will advise you if you need to attend. 

Maternity Triage Contact Numbers :

Please note both numbers are answered 24 hours a day.

01623 655722

01623 672244

If you are concerned about your baby’s pattern of movements:

Your community midwives will have discussed the importance of becoming familiar with your own baby’s pattern of movements. If you are concerned that the the pattern has changed at any time please call the Maternity Triage telephone number.

Your baby’s movements should not slow down or change at the end of pregnancy or after your due date.

If you have any of the following complexities with your pregnancy and the baby’s movements are reduced or the pattern has changed please call Triage and be prepared to come in immediately.

  • Repeated episodes of reduced movements
  • Multiple pregnancy
  • Known issues with the growth of your baby
  • High blood pressure
  • Diabetes
  • Smoking
  • If you are aged under 16, or over the age of 40
  • Known drug use
  • Higher BMI
  • Obstetric cholestasis
  • Antiphospholipid syndrome
  • Previous pregnancy loss
  • Concerns with home environment or relationships

 

If you think you are in labour:

Labour is different for everyone but commonly starts with contractions or your waters breaking. Your community midwife will have discussed signs of labour and when to call the hospital with you towards the end of your pregnancy.

If you think your waters might have broken:

This is common during or shortly before the start of labour. It can also occur before 37 weeks of pregnancy (premature).  Some people will find it obvious when the waters have broken, experiencing a large gush of fluid. Some will be less sure, experiencing a trickle of fluid or feeling like their underwear is damp. If you are not sure, you can place a maternity or sanitary pad in your underwear and observe any leaking fluid. In either situation call Maternity Triage to discuss what to do next.

If you notice any vaginal bleeding:

Call Maternity Triage immediately for advice. A ‘show’ (the mucus plug) can start coming away from the cervix days (or sometimes weeks) before you go into labour. This will have a sticky, mucousy and blood-stained appearance and is completely normal. Fresh red bleeding however is not normal. If you are at all unsure contact Maternity Triage to discuss this. If the bleeding is severe call 999 for an ambulance.

Please also call Maternity Triage if you experience any of the following:

  • Any green or brown loss from the vagina
  • Unusual or severe abdominal or back pain
  • Severe headache not relieved by paracetamol
  • If you have sudden and worsening itching—particularly on the palms of your hand and soles of your feet
  • If you feel very unwell, particularly if you have severe flu-like symptoms
  • Postnatal problems such as very heavy bleeding requiring frequent changing of your sanitary wear, feeling very unwell with flu-like symptoms, poor healing or excessive swelling or pain of perineal stitches or caesarean section wound

If you have severe chest pains or shortness of breath call 999 immediately

If you have any signs or symptoms of a blood clot visit your nearest A&E department immediately.

Please note: We are able to provide telephone advice if you have a concern about your baby in the postnatal period (up to 28 days) and sign post you to the most appropriate help.

Maternity Triage is intended for acute or emergency situations. If your concern is not an emergency or is not pregnancy/post birth related then you should either discuss this with your community midwife at your next appointment or see your GP. Examples of this are:

  • If you think you might have a urine infection
  • You want a fit to fly letter
  • You require your MATB1 form
  • Diarrhoea and vomiting lasting less than 48 hours unless you have a fever over 37.5°C, are not producing very much urine or have worsening stomach pains
  • Swollen hands and feet in the absence of other symptom

Your visit to Maternity Triage:

If, after a telephone conversation with the midwife in Maternity Triage, you are advised to attend, please bring any records you have with you. This is very important so that we can see how your pregnancy has progressed up to now, your ultrasound scans and any other important documents about your care.

BSOTS (Birmingham Symptom-specific Obstetric Triage System)

If you are attending with an urgent concern we aim to see you for an initial triage appointment within 15 minutes to carry out a brief assessment. After this, depending on the urgency of your situation, you may be asked to wait in the waiting room for ongoing care.

We prioritise our patients based on their level of clinical need, not their order of arrival. This may mean that patients who arrive after you may be seen before you. If you are attending with a booked appointment we will see you as close to your appointment time as possible but emergencies will take priority. We appreciate your patience and understanding—this helps us to provide safe and effective care.

Women are then seen in the following order:

  • Red (emergency): Seen and treated immediately
  • Amber (urgent): Normally seen within 15 minutes
  • Yellow (moderate): Normally seen within 45 minutes
  • Green (non-urgent): Normally seen within 4 hours

Where possible please make alternative arrangements for children to be cared for. If this is very difficult for you, please ask to speak to the midwife in charge before you arrive.

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