New Maternity Records System to Bring Better Care

Handwritten medical records on the maternity ward of the Scarborough General Hospital (SGH) to analyse data will become a thing of the past with SIP Plus.

PAHO/WHO recently trained nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals on the new perinatal information system, which allows data to be entered electronically for medical record-keeping.

Acting Medical Chief of Staff of the SGH Dr. Victor Wheeler said: “SIP Plus will allow us to standardise the care of clients and reduce the amount of time that it takes for clients to obtain their medical records.”

“We will also be able to analyze the data instantly to identify, for example, trends in care, high-risk conditions or any issues affecting a segment of the population. Over the next few months the software will also be rolled out throughout the TRHA’s network of Health Centres. All of this is being done with the support of PAHO/WHO and we are very grateful to them.”

“Tobago has already been part of a pilot with respect to capturing complete maternal and neonatal data across healthcare institutions and we are now expanding from the pilot to full implementation,” Consultant for PAHO/WHO Trinidad & Tobago Izola Garcia said.

“The new system allows you to be able to produce data on mother and baby at the click of a button to be used for auditing, care and management of expectant mothers and their babies as well as for research, measuring improvements over time and policy and decision-making.”

Medical records in digital format will enhance the operations of the ward and increase the level of efficiency and effectiveness. SIP Plus is being offered by PAHO/WHO free of charge. The training exercise was followed by a tour of the maternity ward.