Pregnant women given right to choose hospital and midwife without GP
In its ongoing mission to overhaul maternity care and restore public faith in its services, the NHS has announced pregnant women can now contact a midwife directly to put in place maternity care without first going through their GP. This also means they can choose the hospital they want to give birth in.
This is a huge move in establishing more control for women over how and where they give birth and takes away the burden of waiting for a GP appointment to be able to put in place initial midwifery care.
Currently, a woman's GP puts them in contact with the maternity services at their local hospital, with little choice often of which hospital will provide that care.
Recent NHS data show that in 20203/24, only 62 per cent of first appointments with maternity services took place within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, meaning that early pregnancy scans were likely delayed as was the opportunity to discuss any concerns about the pregnancy.
The NHS also says that around 60,000 newly pregnant women started their referral online since the new online contact tool was rolled out in March. More than three-quarters of hospitals trusts in England are connected to the service. Around 85,000 people accessed the portal in total to receive information and support.
Where I believe this move will also provide a real benefit is during a woman's second or third pregnancy where they perhaps did not have a good experience first time around or, worse, failings in care resulted in injury to them or their baby.
I have certainly conducted more than one case where, following the terrible tragedy of a stillbirth in first pregnancy, a couple were expected to go back to the same hospital for maternity care during a subsequent pregnancy. Clearly, the stress attached to such an expectation, knowing the previous outcome, is re-traumatising, and not something anyone should be expected to have to endure.
Equally important is that early contact with a midwife should mean that fetal scanning happens without delay. This means that any problems, which are of course very rare, can be addressed early and efficiently. The new system should also take pressure away from GP services, which can only be a positive move.
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