Improving Practice: Women's Views of a Maternity Triage Service

A new triage service was initiated in an acute trust in southwest England to assess women who presented with a problem in their pregnancy but who did not necessarily require admission to delivery suite. Questionnaires were used to obtain the views of women using triage and to identify areas which they thought were good practice and also identify those areas that required improvement. Data were analysed using the SNAP survey software which enabled basic features within the data to be described. Most women were happy with the amount of time they waited in triage which appears to negate the need for appointments. Women were satisfied with the amount of time they spent with the midwife and obstetrician and reported being treated with dignity and respect, although there were some problems relating to the triage environment.