NHS 'must address gaps in maternity systems' under ten-year plan

Midwifery leaders have outlined the many technical challenges facing maternity care as the NHS implements its ten-year health plan.

Security issues caused by interoperability issues between systems, the digital skills gap and the implementation of AI were explored as part of the webinar “Midwifery and the digital ambitions of the ten-year plan” on October 24, 2025.

The expert panel expressed concern about security issues related to data access under the planned shift from analog to digital, with multiple non-interoperable systems.

They also questioned how the push towards a single comprehensive patient record, which is being rolled out first in maternity care, will work in practice, given that the quality of shared care records varies between regions.

Dawn Cross, deputy national director of midwifery information at NHS England, said the single patient record is in a “test and learn phase” and should draw on lessons from large-scale technology rollouts in the past.

“I think it’s also important for people to know that doctors are involved.

“We have to learn from the mistakes of the past when they tried to develop and implement large technology without any clinical input.

“It failed and it cost a lot of money, so this time we’re involved, and I think that’s the most crucial point around single-patient registration,” Cross said.

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

“Motherhood is in the spotlight, as it absolutely should be, and we are looking for solutions that 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 we put into the front end of the system” and said midwives are currently faced with “a lot of systems”.

“When we talk about the importance of data, we need to work harder for our midwifery and neonatal colleagues to ensure 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 the maternity hospital lacked confidence in their digital skills and had struggled to transition from paper-based processes.

“The younger workforce that has grown up with touch screens is much more digitally savvy, and as they start to build and become part of the leadership, it will be much easier,” Witchard added.

Misbah Mahmood, chief clinical information and safety officer at Bradford District Care Trust, said AI should not be relied on as a “one-size-fits-all solution”.

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

“Ultimately, we are responsible for the care we provide,” he said.