The proportion of women in Oxfordshire on long-term contraception fell following the pandemic, new figures show.

It follows the national trend, with the figures revealing 9 per cent fewer women had access to long-acting reversible contraception in 2022 than in 2019.

MSI Reproductive Choices, a non-governmental organisation providing reproductive healthcare, said while Covid-19 added pressure on healthcare services, many of the issues go back even further, with sexual and reproductive healthcare severely underfunded.

Office for Health Improvement and Disparities figures show 58.7 per 1,000 women in Oxfordshire aged between 15 and 44 were prescribed long-acting reversible contraception in 2022.

This includes the non-hormonal copper coil, hormonal coil, and the hormonal implant.

This was down from 62.3 in 2019 and a decrease from 59.3 per 1,000 women the year before.

The figures revealed a disparity between the most and least deprived groups nationally, with the rates at 36.6 and 53.7, respectively – a gap of 17.1 per 1,000 women.

In Oxfordshire, 44.9 per 1,000 women aged under 25 and 60.6 per 1,000 women aged over 25 cited a form of LARC as their main method of contraception in 2022.

Meanwhile, across England, the proportion of women prescribed short acting combined hormonal contraception in 2022 was 8.1 per 1,000, meaning it halved compared to a rate of 16.1 in 2019.

The figure stood at nine per 1,000 women in Oxfordshire – down from 23.1 three years prior.

Dr Janet Barter, president of the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare, said: “Access to the full range of contraceptive methods, including LARC, is a fundamental right.

“A combination of funding cuts and fragmented commissioning services means that care is not structured around women’s needs, negatively affecting access to essential healthcare.

“We call on the Government to take urgent action to address these barriers. It is crucial that everyone in need of contraception can access comprehensive care wherever and whenever they choose to.”

The Health and Social Care Secretary, Victoria Atkins, spoke at the Woman's Health Summit in January and provided updates on the Women's Health Strategy 2024 priorities.

She said: “We should be able to control when and if we fall pregnant. We have therefore made contraception more accessible through our Pharmacy First programme.

“From December, oral contraception is now available on more high streets, using our pharmacists to their full potential - making it faster, simpler and fairer for women to access this healthcare.

“We will also roll out long-lasting contraception through women’s health hubs.”