27 April 2022

Frimley Health's new 24-hour telephone triage service supporting pregnant women and new mums goes live at Wexham Park Hospital on 28 April and Frimley Park Hospital on 26 May.

The Maternity and Midwifery Advice and Support (MAMAS) Line is a collaboration with South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) and provides a single point of contact for women from 16 weeks into their pregnancy through to 28 days postpartum. 

A team of our midwives will give consistent, evidence-based advice to women who are concerned about their pregnancy or who think they may be in labour. They will signpost other callers to alternative services when appropriate. 

Mothers and families should call 0300 013 2004 to contact MAMAS Line. 

The team, which will be based at the SCAS northern headquarters in Bicester, Oxfordshire, will also monitor 999 calls, enabling them to provide support when needed and to offer guidance to paramedics on the road. Their expertise could result in some ambulance callouts being stood down, ensuring they are available to respond to other emergencies.  

The scheme will replace separate telephone triage lines currently operating at Wexham Park and Frimley Park hospitals, ensuring all future calls are answered in a timely manner and improving the experience for women. 

The initiative is another example of the Trust collaborating with our partners to improve services for our communities - one of our key strategic ambitions. 

The new phone number will be shared with women in their maternity notes and widely publicised in our hospitals, clinics and in the community.  

Debbie Simkin, Lead Midwife for the Telephone Triage Project, said: “This brand new and innovative pregnancy advice telephone line will give women and community clinicians access to 24-hour evidence-based, consistent advice and support from midwives via a single point of contact. 

“It will maximise our clinical expertise and empower women during pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period.”