Last Monday, 12th May saw the launch of ViewPoint Ultrasound Reporting Software at CHFT. It's part of the continued work to reduce stillbirths, and will support how sonographers scan, measure, and document fetal wellbeing data. Introducing this software will help to improve the early detection and identification of unborn babies who are either small in their development, or potentially growing slowly.

The use of the new software means we can also move away from text-based paper reporting to a digital format, which contains data rich information, graphing and more detailed clinical information. This will be done by transferring fetal metrics into a full PDF report which can be viewed and stored in the patient's record. It will also support greater collaboration with neighbouring trusts, including Bradford and Leeds, helping to improve patient care across the region.

Gemma Puckett, Director of Midwifery and Women’s Services, said: “I am delighted that we are able to progress to more modern and improved software to support the assessment and monitoring of fetal wellbeing during pregnancies. This change will ensure we continue to embed our care pathways in line with the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle and support our clinical teams in making personalised care plans with women and families using our services."

“This has been an extraordinarily complex project involving the integration of many systems from multiple suppliers and teams of staff including Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Radiology, and Maternity.

Huge thank yous to Ian Holloway (CHFT Integration Specialist), our PACS team lead by Mark Williams and Sarah Wilson, our Lead Sonographers Kate Grayson, and Catherine Allan, Sarah Saqib (Obstetric Consultant), Emma Burbidge (Digital Matron), THIS IT teams, Laura Chambers (Project Manager) and HNC (Viewpoint supplier) for all their hard work to bring this project to fruition and the many benefits it will bring.”

The ViewPoint project team are pictured left to right: Laura Chambers, Kate Grayson, Sarah Wilson, Sarah Saqib, Emma Burbidge and Chris Khokhar (from the software supplier, HNC).