England’s Chief Nurse Ruth May has announced that every mum to be will be able to access their maternity records on their smart phones.

Promising that ‘bulky paper records would soon be banished’, May told the NHS Confederation conference that pregnant women will soon be able to access information on their pregnancy at their fingertips on phones or other electronic devices if they choose to.

The NHS is investing £52 million to fast track its Long Term Plan commitment to ensure that all women will have access to all of their maternity notes and information through a smart phone or other device by 2023/24.

While some NHS trusts have some form of digital maternity records in place, the new system will be the gold standard and ensure that there are no variations in quality of platform across the country.

NHS England and NHSX will work with maternity service providers, local maternity and neonatal systems and integrated care systems, as well as suppliers, to develop the best platform for clinicians and women.

May said: “Giving women easy access to their maternity records, whether on a smart phone or online, allows them to take full control of their pregnancy journey by having all the information and decisions about their care at their fingertips. Midwives, GPs, and other clinicians caring for a pregnant woman will also have easy access to information, no matter where or when the mum-to-be is seen.

“Not only will this help improve the experience for women by reducing the burden of repeating information to each healthcare professional that they see throughout their pregnancy, but it will also improve safety. It will help us to ensure the best health and care outcomes by preventing important details from being missed.”