A new self-referral system for pregnant women could save 180,000 calls to GPs and up to 30,000 fewer general practice appointments each year, says NHS England.
The service sees newly pregnant women in England able to skip the GP and self-refer directly to local maternity services by completing an online form on NHS.uk. The form allows families to choose which NHS trust to refer themselves to.
The new self-referral tool began being rolled out in March and, since then, NHS England said nearly 60,000 newly pregnant women have started their referral online.
Over three-quarters of trusts in England are now connected to the service and nearly 85,000 people have accessed the portal in total to receive information and support, said NHS England.
NHS England added that the initiative comes after data showed only 62% of first appointments with maternity services happened within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy in 2023/24.
Dr Claire Fuller, NHS England medical director, said that in many cases, GP teams do not need to be the first point of contact when someone finds out they are pregnant.
‘This quick and easy tool can help ease pressure on practice teams, who won’t need to make the referral themselves, and by freeing up that time there will hopefully be a benefit for other patients who are looking to make an appointment with their GP,’ she said.
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said ‘this initiative, as long as it is implemented correctly, makes sense’.
‘It’s important that women in early pregnancy still know they can come to their GP directly with any concerns about their pregnancy or health – and for women with existing health conditions, we would advise that they remain in contact with their GP as their pregnancy progresses,’ said Prof Hawthorne.
‘It will also be key that once this initiative has been implemented that there is good record sharing between GPs and maternity service so we can ensure that our patients get joined up care,’ she added.
Under the initiative, women can still request to see their GP if they’d prefer not to self-refer.
Prior to the launch of the new tool, pregnant women have been able to self-refer via local trust sites, but NHS England said it is estimated that only 50% of people were doing so, with many ‘going unnecessarily via their GP’ to access maternity care.
