The effects of a telephone triage intervention in a birth centre: an audit

Maternity service provision in the UK includes midwife-led care for low-risk women, and the quality and safety of health care attracts political interest and a continuing level of public concern. Current challenges in the provision of maternity services are evident due to workforce and financial pressures (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists 2016). Although evidence from the literature suggests that low-risk women would greatly benefit from midwife-led care, in terms of outcomes for both mother and baby (Birthplace in England Collaborative Group 2011, Delgado Nunes et al 2014, National Institute for Health & Clinical Excellence (NICE) 2014), these challenges continue to impact as to how these services can improve in the future. More recently, recommendations have been made to improve outcomes and ensure a more personalised birthing experience can be made available to every childbearing woman and her family (NHS England 2016)