Macclesfield Hospital has been identified as a site of good practice for pregnant women attending antenatal scans during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The East Cheshire NHS Trust was recognised as one of the first organisations to allow partners to attend scans during the pandemic.

This has been highlighted at a webinar chaired by Joanne Fillingham, Deputy Chief Allied Health Professionals at NHS Improvement.

The trust's Head of Midwifery, Bo Hamilton-Cody said: "At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, national guidance was issued to reduce the number of visitors in hospitals across the UK. Unfortunately, this had a negative impact on women who were unable to be accompanied to scans during the early stages of their pregnancy.

"Subsequently, the national guidance was changed in June 2020, and we are extremely proud that we were able to enact this change quickly when very few other trusts were able too."

The webinar was used to allow the trust to share its experience and best practice across the NHS.

"To deliver this service, teams across maternity and radiology worked closely to provide an enhanced patient experience. It is fantastic to be able to work with colleagues to support women and their partners to attend these scans at this exciting time in their life, despite the challenges that Covid-19 brings," Bo added.

Bo said the trust's ability to be "agile and flexible", owing to its relatively small size, allowed it to be one of the few to allow partners in for scans.

"Getting to know our patients and recognising their individual care pathways helps us really understand the impact of our actions and how a positive experience can make such a difference," she said.

The trust is now working to ensure that partners can attend all antenatal appointments during their pregnancies at the hospital of with community midwives.