May 20th 2023
Expectant mums now have access to the very latest baby monitoring equipment at Salisbury District Hospital thanks your generous donations.
We have provided £80,000 of funding to buy eight new state-of-the-art Cardiotocography CTG machines which monitor the hearts of babies before and during labour, helping midwives and obstetricians monitor the health of the baby, as well as monitoring the mum’s contractions.
Fetal Surveillance Lead Midwife Tori Harper said: “It is one of the best tools we’ve got to aid us to understand in a snapshot how the baby is doing. We can make an assessment with the results of the CTG supporting the ongoing plan of care. We are heavily reliant on CTGs to have a better understanding of the baby’s wellbeing in the moment.
“Having these new CTGs is going to improve the experience for our patients, the quality of our monitoring, and antenatally they are a really good tool with up-to-date technology.”
Around 2,200 babies are delivered at Salisbury Hospital every year. CTGs are used particularly for pregnant mums with high risk factors and allow midwives to detect any problems.
Some of the new monitors have wireless sensors so expectant mums no longer have to be wired up to the machines and have more freedom to walk around and get more comfortable while on the ward.
The wireless technology also enhances the monitoring capabilities available to midwives. The new CTGs allow for monitoring up until birth or the final stages of preparing for surgical birth.
As midwife Tori says: “For us it’s one of those pieces of equipment that we use most. To have access to up-to-date technology will improve care even more.”
The new CTGs will also standardise monitoring in the Maternity Department’s Labour Ward and Day Assessment Unit and boost the number of CTGs available. They are the only type of machines that operate with the Dawes-Redman CTG analysis system, which will enhance further the monitoring of mums and their babies.