Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 17 May 2018 to Question 142448 on Postnatal Care, whether the General Medical Services contract sets out that GPs must provide the (a) six week postnatal check for new mothers and (b) six to eight week check for babies.

A six-week postnatal check for all mothers and a six to eight-week check for all babies are not currently specified in the General Medical Services contract as something which general practitioners are required to provide. However, we have asked for the six-week maternal postnatal check, as recommended by the National Childbirth Trust, to be considered in the general practice contract negotiations for 2019/20.