Key Takeaways
- Newly pregnant women in England can now self-refer online for their first midwife appointments without needing a GP visit.
- The NHS aims to streamline maternity care, with nearly 60,000 women using the online system since its March 2025 rollout.
- Concerns have been raised regarding accessibility for those lacking technology, emphasizing the need for an inclusive system.
Improving Access to Maternity Care
NHS England has launched an online self-referral service for newly pregnant women to book their first midwife appointment easily. Currently available at over three-quarters of NHS trusts across England, expectant mothers can fill out a simple online form on NHS.uk to connect directly with local maternity services, eliminating the need to consult a GP first.
This initiative allows families to select which NHS trust to refer themselves to, facilitating earlier access to pregnancy care. Kate Brintworth, NHS chief midwife, emphasized the importance of supporting newly pregnant women from the outset, stating, “This new tool makes it easier than ever to book that all-important first maternity care appointment.”
Since the system’s rollout in March 2025, approximately 60,000 expectant mothers have utilized the online referral tool, with around 85,000 users accessing the platform overall. Previously, women could self-refer through local trust websites, but only about 50% did so, often leading many to go through their GP unnecessarily.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting expressed the need to alleviate the stress associated with making early pregnancy appointments. “Early pregnancy should be about joy and excitement – not wrestling with NHS bureaucracy,” he stated, highlighting the simplicity of the new online service as a significant improvement.
The move aims to address data showing that only 62% of first appointments with maternity services occurred within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy during the 2023/24 period. Dr. Claire Fuller, NHS national medical director, noted that this tool would also help reduce pressure on GP practices, potentially leading to 180,000 fewer calls and 30,000 fewer appointments yearly.
However, the initiative has faced scrutiny from maternity advocates concerning accessibility. Abbie Aplin, director of maternity reform and improvement at the Royal College of Midwives, stressed the importance of ensuring that individuals without easy access to technology are not excluded from this service. Dr. Jyotsna Vohra, from the charity Tommy’s, echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that while online self-referral can be beneficial, it must be user-friendly to truly serve a broad audience.
As a subsequent enhancement, the Department of Health and Social Care is set to launch a national maternity dashboard in June 2025 to improve oversight and address previous failures in maternity care across various NHS trusts. This move aligns with the broader objective of fostering a more accessible and supportive environment for all pregnant women in the UK.
The content above is a summary. For more details, see the source article.
