Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to take steps to rectify the omission from the General Medical Services contract of maternal postnatal checks.

The General Medical Service contract sets out that where a general practitioner practice provides maternity medical services, the practice is required to provide to female patients and their babies all necessary maternity medical services throughout the postnatal period other than neonatal checks.

Maternity medical services is defined as:

- In relation to female patients (other than babies) all primary medical services relating to pregnancy, excluding intra partum care; and

- In relation to babies, any primary medical services necessary in their first 14 days of life.