TARGETS to cut teen pregnancy rates in Nottingham are "incredibly challenging", health officials have admitted.

City health authorities have been told to cut the number of conceptions among girls aged 15 to 17 by half by 2010.

In recent years the city's teen pregnancy rates have been among the highest in the country.

They have remained stubbornly high but recently showed an improvement – with the rate dropping to 69.3 pregnancies per 1,000 teens in 2007.

But the latest target agreed by NHS Nottingham City and the East Midlands strategic health authority aims to reduce the rate to just 33.6 by 2010.

It is part of the primary care trust's new Five Year Commissioning Plan setting out its health goals in the city.

The figure echoes the target in Nottingham's Local Area Agreement needed to help bring about a 55% cut nationwide by 2010. When this target was agreed city health authorities thought a rate of 54.3 would be a "feasible but challenging" figure.

At a meeting of the PCT's trust board, director of delivery and performance Michelle Rhodes said: "I think we all appreciate it is an incredibly challenging reduction we have got to meet."

Chief executive Andrew Kenworthy said there was no leeway for city authorities against the Government target.

He said: "This is what we will be held accountable for. It will be part of our performance review – this will be the target we are measured against."

A spokesperson for NHS Nottingham City said "a robust monitoring system" was in place for measuring progress towards the target.

Regular projections will be made based on national data and bosses says services will be changed "if areas are highlighted for needing improvement".

Failing to meet the target would hinder NHS Nottingham City's target of achieving World Class Commissioning status, as part of a new Government scheme to reward high-performing trusts.

A taskforce to tackle unplanned teenage pregnancy in Nottingham has been set up and is made up of senior representatives from city authorities.

Nottingham North MP Graham Allen, who chairs the taskforce, said: "If every year we can push down the number of pregnancies in Nottingham I will regard that as a great achievement."

robert.parsons@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk