‘Over a year behind’ on key maternity target, NHSE admits

Pregnant women and new mothers are facing wide variation in access to mental health support, new figures suggest, as NHS England admits national performance on a key long-term plan goal to expand services is ‘over a year behind trajectory’.

Analysis of access rates for perinatal mental health services from NHS Digital shows the rates of women accessing support within the past 12 months range from 3.7 per cent in Humber and North Yorkshire to 15 per cent in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICS.

The long-term plan target is for 66,000 women per year to be accessing specialist perinatal services, which can help with conditions such as post-partum psychosis, by March 2024. NHSE admitted in its papers that “although access is increasing, performance remains over a year behind trajectory”.

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Source: HSJ, 25 May 2023