A NEW maternity triage service was accessed nearly 12,000 times in January, figures show.

The service was launched on the Healthier Together app and went live in Hampshire in November 2022.

It allow users to assess their pregnancy related symptoms and log any concerns during their pregnancy, giving them instant access to the help or advice they need.

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The app asks users to assess their symptoms before deciding if they fall into a red, amber or green category.

Anyone classed as red will be treated as an emergency and asked to contact a health professional immediately.

Amber means the user will be advised to call the maternity triage line, their GP or 111 if our of hours.

For both the red and amber categories the user can press a button on the app and they will be automatically connected to the service that has been recommended.

Those in Hampshire directed to call the maternity triage line will be connected to a midwife at South Central Ambulance Services.

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They will be triaged by midwives and, if required, advised to attend their local Maternity Day Assessment Unit for further assessment.

Those categorised as green will be directed to information to self-care at home.

In January 2023, eight per cent of those using the triage system were classified as red and were asked to call a health professional immediately.

Eighty-three per cent of those using the app were given advice and avoided having to contact or speak to a medical professional.

Holly Green, maternity lead for Healthier Together, said: “The maternity triage line is a brilliant service allows pregnant people to have access to consistent advice, as and when they need it, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“By using the app, it also reduces the number of phone calls at our day units which allows our midwives to focus on the patients and their babies currently in the department.”

The NHS Healthier Together app can be downloaded either from the Apple app store, or the Google Play store.