University Hospital Southampton trial maternity remote screening

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust has successfully launched a groundbreaking remote screening initiative for pregnant women, making them the first globally to access the gold standard oral glucose tolerance test from the comfort of their own homes. This innovative approach eliminates the need for women to travel to a hospital clinic and spend hours fasting, offering a more convenient and efficient way to test for gestational diabetes mellitus. Developed in partnership with Digostics, the GTT@home test kit allows women to test remotely and immediately transmit their results to their care team via smartphone. The trial at University Hospital Southampton showed significant improvement in test accessibility, with 100% of women successfully testing within their target window. Both women and maternity staff highly recommend the remote screening over traditional clinic testing. This new patient-focused approach not only enhances the quality and timeliness of the test but also frees up valuable midwifery resources for other essential antenatal and postnatal care activities. Dr. Matthew Coleman, consultant obstetric physician at University Hospital Southampton, praises the initiative for its contribution to patient empowerment, equity, and accuracy in gestational diabetes testing. The implementation of GTT@home marks a significant step towards revolutionizing antenatal care and improving outcomes for pregnant women.