FOI Ref: 0071FOI2021

10th September 2020

Freedom of Information Act 2000 – Request for Information

We are pleased to respond to your request for information and our response is set out below:

Request

I am a PhD student at [redacted], researching the provision of maternity care services to vulnerable pregnant women experiencing domestic violence and how this may impact their maternal outcomes. I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. In order to assist you with this request, I will outline my query as specifically as possible below.

I understand from NICE guidance (2010)

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg110/chapter/1-Guidance#general-recommendations) that, for the purposes of mapping local populations to guide the provision of services, Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) are required to collect particular information on the number of women presenting for antenatal care with any complex social factor (including pregnant women who misuse substances; pregnant women who are recent migrants, asylum seekers or refugees, or who have difficulty reading or speaking English; young pregnant women aged under 20; pregnant women who experience domestic abuse).

For the grouping of pregnant women who experience domestic abuse, I am seeking to access information relating to the following items, which I understand CCGs are required to collect as per the NICE guidelines. I am seeking this information for the period 1^st March 2019 to 29^th February 2020.

1. The number of pregnant women who:

• Attend for booking by 10, 12+6 and 20 weeks.
• Attend for the recommended number of antenatal appointments, in line with national guidance.
• Experience, or have babies who experience, mortality or significant morbidity.
• The number of appointments each woman attends.
• The number of scheduled appointments each woman does not attend.

2. The recorded satisfaction levels/ feedback of pregnant women who experience domestic abuse who have presented for antenatal care.

3. The local protocol for pregnant women who domestic abuse, developed by Commissioners and those responsible for the organisation of local antenatal services. The NICE guidelines state this should include:

• Clear referral pathways that set out the information and care that should be offered to women
• The latest government guidance on responding to domestic abuse
• Sources of support for women, including addresses and telephone numbers, such as social services, the police, support groups and women’s refuges
• Safety information for women
• Plans for follow-up care, such as additional appointments or referral to a domestic abuse support worker
• Obtaining a telephone number that is agreed with the woman and on which it is safe to contact her
• Contact details of other people who should be told that the woman is experience domestic abuse, including her GP.

Response

NHS Sheffield CCG does not hold this information. Please direct your request to our maternity services provider Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – sth.foi@nhs.net.