Almost 7,500 healthcare professionals have now signed up to be able to send digital certificates.
Midwives, practice nurses and health visitors can register to issue digital maternity exemption certificates on the NHS Business Services Authority website.
Pregnant women and mothers with a baby under a year old need a maternity exemption certificate to claim free prescriptions. They can also use their certificate to prove their entitlement to free dental treatment.
There are some great benefits to using digital certificates instead of paper:
- It’s quicker – digital certificates are emailed instantly directly to mothers
- It’s easier – you don’t have to fill in paper forms
- It’s more convenient – mothers can show their digital certificate on their phone, so they don’t have to remember their paper certificate
Around 65% of maternity exemption applications are currently digital, and this is increasing every month. Over 150,000 digital maternity certificates were issued digitally last year*.
It is hoped that more pregnant women and new mums can take advantage of the service being digital, by encouraging even more midwives and healthcare professionals to register to issue digital certificates.
Register and find more information at www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/digitalmatex.
*April 2020 – March 2021 158,763 certificates were issued digitally