Electronic maternity records to transform care at Cavan General
New system will provide clinicians with real-time access to up-to-date patient information
Women and families attending Cavan General Hospital will soon benefit from a new electronic health record system designed to improve the safety and coordination of maternity care.
The hospital is preparing to introduce the Maternal & Newborn Clinical Management System (MN-CMS), Ireland's national electronic health record for maternity, newborn and gynaecology services, replacing traditional paper charts with secure digital records.
The new system will provide clinicians with real-time access to up-to-date patient information, helping to support faster clinical decision-making throughout pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period.
For expectant mothers and their babies, the introduction of MN-CMS will mean safer care through built-in clinical alerts and medication safety checks, improved communication between hospital and community healthcare teams, and less paperwork for staff, allowing more time to focus on patient care.
The electronic records will also reduce duplication by enabling maternity, neonatal and gynaecology teams to securely access a single patient record where appropriate, ensuring smoother transitions between hospital and community services.
Laura Waters, General Manager at Cavan General Hospital, described the project as a major milestone for the hospital.
She said maternity, midwifery, medical, nursing and administrative teams have been working closely with regional and national colleagues to deliver the system, adding that it reflects the hospital's commitment to providing safer, more modern and better-connected maternity services for women and families across the region.
Regional Chief Nursing and Midwifery Information Officer Richard Roddy said bringing MN-CMS to Cavan will help deliver more integrated, data-informed and patient-focused care while supporting the HSE's wider Digital for Care 2030 strategy.
MN-CMS is already in use in maternity units across Ireland and now supports approximately 62% of all births nationally. The rollout at Cavan General Hospital forms part of the HSE's national programme to introduce electronic maternity records across all remaining maternity units, helping to improve outcomes for women and newborns through more connected and secure healthcare.