Electronic Health Record to Enhance Maternity Care at Cavan General Hospital

Women and families attending Cavan General Hospital will soon benefit from safer, more connected maternity care as the hospital prepares to introduce the Maternal & Newborn Clinical Management System (MN‑CMS), Ireland’s national electronic health record for maternity services.

The new system will give clinicians secure, real-time access to patient information, helping to support faster, safer and more coordinated care throughout pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period.

MN‑CMS will replace paper charts with secure digital records for mothers and babies, aligning Cavan General Hospital with other maternity units nationwide. This initiative supports the HSE’s Digital for Care 2030 strategy and Sláintecare’s commitment to integrated, person-centred care, ensuring local families benefit from national investment in modern healthcare technology.

What this means for families in Cavan

For women, babies and families using maternity services at Cavan General Hospital, MN‑CMS will mean:

Safer care and better decision-making
Clinicians will have real-time access to a single, up-to-date record for mother and baby, supporting timely, informed clinical decision-making during pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period. Built-in safety features, such as alerts and medication checks, will help reduce the risk of adverse drug events and improve monitoring when additional attention is required.

Joined-up information and smoother journeys
MN‑CMS provides a single electronic chart that can be securely shared, where appropriate, across maternity, neonatology and gynaecology services, as well as with community and primary care. This reduces duplication, supports smoother transitions between hospital and community care, and ensures the care team has timely access to the information they need.

Less paperwork, more time for patients
Standardised digital documentation will reduce manual form-filling and remove the need to transcribe information between charts, reducing administrative burden and allowing more time for direct patient care. Results and key information will be available electronically, reducing delays caused by searching for paper charts or making phone calls.

“Introducing the MN‑CMS electronic health record is a real team achievement for Cavan General Hospital,” said Laura Waters, General Manager. “Our maternity, midwifery, medical, nursing and administrative staff are working together with regional and national colleagues on this important project so that women, babies and families will benefit from safer, more joined-up and modern maternity services as it comes on stream. This reflects our commitment to improving the care we provide for our community.”

“Rolling out MN‑CMS in this region highlights the impact of close collaboration between frontline teams, the national programme and our technology partners,” said Richard Roddy (RGN MSc), Regional Chief Nursing and Midwifery Information Officer. “By adding our maternity services to the growing number of sites using the MN‑CMS electronic health record, women and babies in this part of the country will benefit from more joined-up, data-informed and patient-focused care, while we contribute to the wider HSE Digital for Care 2030 strategy.”

National context

MN‑CMS is Ireland’s national electronic health record system for maternity, newborn and gynaecology services, already implemented in several hospitals and regions. The system now supports approximately 62% of all births in Ireland, strengthening communication across hospital and community services and marking a key milestone in the HSE’s commitment to safe, integrated and person-centred care.

Under the HSE Digital for Care 2030 strategy, remaining maternity units and clinics are transitioning to MN‑CMS, connecting new sites such as Cavan General Hospital to those already using the system. This supports national efforts to improve outcomes for women and newborns and helps ensure health information can be accessed securely where it is needed.