Petition Stop the triage assessment of women in labour over the phone prior to admission

The current process for Maternity units is to assess all pregnant ladies as to what stage of labour they are at over the phone prior to admission.  This is apparently because there is much evidence to suggest that the early stages of labour are safest spent in the comfort of your own home.  Basically they are stopping people from going in until they say so.

The government must revisit this process as 'no one' can or should be medically assessed over the phone.  Each mother has a different pain threshold so someone who can handle pain well will not come across as needing urgent medical attention.  Also an unborn distressed baby can go unnoticed - a babies heart rate can not be checked over the phone.  Surely the best place to be would be the hospital.  Any mother near to their due date or overdue should be assessed at the labour ward if they have started labour and NOT over the phone.  This process needs to be addressed urgently.