New cybertrack technology is helping keep community midwives safe when they're out on call.

All community wives at Leeds Teaching Hospitals are to get the hi-tech equipment which allows them to send regular signals of their whereabouts using sophisticated satellite tracking.

The system uses a combined mobile telephone and a tracking device which can pinpoint the midwife's position down to a few feet across Aireborough and Wharfedale and log it at a control centre.

There's also a red SOS button on the phone so midwives can alert controllers at the 24-hour centre, who can listen in on an open microphone to what is happening - even if the midwife can't speak.

Anyone at the Hospital Trust with access to the internet can also check the whereabouts of midwives which means they can send those nearest to an emergency.

Midwive supervisor Alison McIntyre said she and her colleagues were all in favour of the new device.

"Although it sounded a bit daunting at first, it has been surprisingly easy to use and does give us extra reassurance that if we need help or support there is a log of our movements and the locations from where we send signals.

"On night calls and at weekends when we may be in an unfamiliar part of the city or working with people we do not know personally, it is an added back-up for us. We know help is coming even if we are in a situation where we cannot ring in person to call for support.

"We have tested the equipment all across Leeds and have found it works everywhere." The technology has also been tried out in the district's hillier parts, such at Otley and its Chevin, to make sure it works.

Peter Foy, Head of Security at the Trust, got the idea when he heard the technology was being tested by Thames Valley Police and realised it could be used more widely by health workers.

He said: "We have been concerned for some time in the Trust about the vulnerability of staff who work in the community, and anything which helps make their difficult jobs a little safer is very reassuring."

Now the Leeds Hospital Trust is looking at which other staff could benefit from the new technology.

A spokesman for Bradford Hospitals Trust said there were no definite plans for Bradford to use the technology.