Contribution
I understand the hon. Lady’s point, but putting together a taskforce should not take months and months, because it is too important that we get on with it quickly. The Minister may be able to give us a reason for the delay because, if this is hitting the ground running, the Government must be wearing lead boots.
I also want to talk about the workforce. The Labour party manifesto included a commitment to train thousands of additional midwives. Can the Minister confirm how many more midwives are in training than under the previous Government, how many additional study places have been funded for each year, and how many places will be available this September? Some midwives have spoken about a lack of more senior midwives on shifts and the balance of care. Can the Minister tell us what figures she has on the number of midwives who are now in more senior roles and not providing clinical care, and what proportion of midwives are still spending at least a day a week providing clinical care?
We know that many midwives are not happy with the Government’s proposed 3.3% pay award—health unions have called it a betrayal and an insult. With resident doctors already striking, what is the Minister doing to avoid yet another industrial dispute, which I worry would contribute to poorer maternity care? At the same time, the Government’s plans to reorganise NHS services and ICBs have put them under financial pressure. Can the Minister confirm what effects she thinks that will have on maternal services and maternal mental health services used by women?
The Government promised 1,000 speciality training places; how many of those that have now been cancelled were for obstetrics and gynaecology? Will the delayed workforce plan, when it comes, have details of the number of obstetrics and gynaecology trainees that are needed, and will the Government have a plan to deliver the right number so that we have the best number of doctors for care?
Hon. Members talked about how births are becoming more complex—there are fewer births, but there are more complex births. What are the Minister’s plans for prevention, for example by ensuring that women have folic acid? We know that around four in five women take folic acid, but what can be done to improve that? I give the Government credit for the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, but what is being done to reduce smoking in particular among women who are planning a pregnancy or who are pregnant? Obesity and the effects of chronic illness are also important in making pregnancies as healthy as they can be. Given the Government’s focus on prevention, can the Minister update the House on what is being done in those areas?
The speech by the hon. Lady for Morecambe and Lunesdale (Lizzi Collinge) explained the workforce culture extremely effectively. Where errors happen—I agree with her that errors will always happen—it is important that the response is honest, open and transparent. Those who blow the whistle should be safe to do so, and the balance between accountability and blame needs to be in the right place so that we get improvements in maternity care. I share the hon. Lady’s concerns about the “normal birth” culture.
As many hon Members have said, listening to women is important. I asked the Minister about the abolition of Healthwatch the other day, but I do not think I got an answer. Organisations will always try to represent their interest group as effectively as they can, but there may be women who fall through the cracks. The benefit of Healthwatch is that it will listen to all and any women, whereas groups will just represent cohorts of women.
On travel, it is not uncommon, where there is a baby with a cardiac or neurological condition or extreme prematurity requiring surgery, for the baby to have to be transported significant distances, sometimes hours away from their parents’ home, in order to receive the best care. That can be very challenging for people in the cost of travel, and accommodation local to those units. Some units have excellent accommodation onsite in the hospital for mothers and fathers who have a baby who is particularly sick, but others do not. I asked some written questions on this topic following the neonatal estate review, but I got answers back about bereavement suites, which are a different issue.
I have heard examples of women being asked to stay on the postnatal ward when they have a baby in the neonatal unit. One woman described to me being in a bay with three other women who all had their babies with them; that woman was told to stop pressing the buzzer for help after a caesarean section, as there were other women with babies who needed to be looked after—I thought that was particularly cruel.
In summary, I understand that the Minister is very dedicated to this cause, and I am sure that the Secretary of State is too, as we all are. However, I feel that the delay, the report and the endless inquiries are not creating the actions that we need, so I would be grateful for the Minister’s response.