Partner spotlight session Grace Murray, South Tees Hospital

Grace explained their maternity services facilitate approximately 5,000 births per year. Each month, they book new pregnant women and up to 38% of those are from the most deprived postcodes based on the Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) decile.

In addition to the significant areas of deprivation, there are high levels of unemployment and low levels of good quality housing in Teesside. As a result, this region is amongst the worst in the country for public health. It is also estimated that 6.9 million people in the UK will remain digitally excluded if nothing is done to help them.

Grace mentioned the cost-of-living crisis and explained that over one million people have disconnected their broadband in the last year, this is mainly due to affordability. 42% of those on low incomes, without access to the internet at home are of working age. This therefore challenges the opinion that digital exclusion is a generational issue. People on universal credit were more than six times as likely to have their broadband disconnected. Yet, broadband companies conduct credit checks before providing services. This group of people are likely to pay poverty premiums, which means that they pay more for basic goods and services.

Identifying those in need - Service users may not always disclose that they are digitally excluded. The maternity unit relies on clinicians to create open and honest relationships with pregnant people to identify those most in need. This is where the collaboration with NGN will help alleviate this issue within South Tees, specifically amongst pregnant people.