Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Laura Kyrke-Smith and Wes Streeting

Tuesday 13th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Laura Kyrke-Smith (Aylesbury) (Lab)]

9. What steps his Department is taking to improve maternity and neonatal care.

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)]

As the House knows, I am deeply concerned by the state of maternity care in the NHS that we inherited. While the majority of births go well, I know from the courage of families who have spoken up and the concern of staff that devastating impacts are arising from failures in care. That is why I asked Baroness Amos to chair an independent investigation into maternity and neonatal services to drive urgent action, but that has not stopped us from taking action in the meantime. We have invested more than £131 million to improve neonatal care facilities, brought in a new maternity care bundle, implemented a programme to reduce the two leading causes of avoidable brain injury during labour, and increased maternal mental health services. There is so much more to do, however, to guarantee safety now and into the future, and also to ensure truth, justice and accountability for past failures.

[Wes Streeting]

Everyone accessing maternity care should be offered a personalised care and support plan, informed by a personalised risk assessment. That is so women have more control over their own care based on what matters to them and their individual needs and preferences, as well as to ensure that every woman understands the risk factors that might arise in her case. A caesarean section is generally a very safe procedure, but like any type of surgery, it carries a risk of complications. All women should have the confidence of knowing that the doctors and midwives dealing with them are robustly trained to deal with severe complications, including haemorrhage. That is why the maternity care bundle, as well as other measures, will lead to greater safety, more information and, crucially, the personalisation of care and patient choice for the mother.

[Laura Kyrke-Smith]

I welcome the new maternal care bundle and its ambition to drive consistently high standards of care for every pregnant and new mum. It is great that maternal mental health is one of the five elements prioritised; I am grateful to the Secretary of State for his focus on that. The challenge now is to drive forward its implementation. Can he say more about how he intends to do that, and in particular how he will ensure that NHS staff are trained and confident enough to better screen and support women who are struggling with their mental health?

[Wes Streeting]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise that issue, and I commend her for the work she is doing in this area. There is a real risk of post-natal depression. Certainly where there have been complications in birth or, worse still, injury or the most unimaginable experience of loss, we need to make sure that women and their partners and the wider families are supported from day one. That does not just mean training and support for staff and making sure that they are doing emotional wellbeing screening; it also means thinking more thoughtfully about estates. One thing that has really struck me is the experience of women who have suffered loss during labour who are asked, during the care that follows, to go back to the very maternity units where their unimaginable pain was first endured. Those are difficult issues to challenge, and it will require investment, but those are the sorts of areas we are getting into as we think more thoughtfully about how to ensure that we take care of not just the physical health of the mother and baby, but the mental health and wellbeing of mother and the wider family.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Laura Kyrke-Smith and Wes Streeting

Tuesday 25th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Laura Kyrke-Smith (Aylesbury) (Lab)]

4. What steps his Department is taking to improve patient access to GPs.

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)]

I am pleased to report that both access to general practice and patient satisfaction with general practice have improved since Labour came to office. Over 75% of patients find it easy to contact their practice —an improvement of 14 percentage points since the general election. Not only have we recruited an extra 2,500 GPs; crucially, more patients are receiving continuity of care, backed by an additional £1.1 billion. Lots done, lots to do, and certainly a long way to go, but general practice is on the road to recovery.

--- Later in debate ---

[Laura Kyrke-Smith]

The number of qualified GPs in Buckinghamshire has risen by 8% in the last year thanks to this Government’s determination to recruit and retain more GPs. It is a great start, but I still hear from too many people in Aylesbury who cannot get through to their GP surgery or cannot get a quick enough appointment when they do. My constituent Jane, whose husband had suffered a stroke, was advised that he needed a GP appointment the next day, but it took a month to get one. I know my right hon. Friend is determined to keep improving access to primary care for people in Aylesbury and across the country, so can he set out his next steps?

[Wes Streeting]

I certainly can, and I am sorry that my hon. Friend’s constituent was let down. Everyone who needs a same-day appointment should be able to book one, and that is what we are working towards. As she says, we are recruiting more GPs. We are also investing £102 million to create additional space for appointments, including in 21 GP practices in my hon. Friend’s local integrated care board system. Nowhere is the state of the NHS, and the crumbling legacy we inherited, more evident than in the NHS estate, and that is why I am proud that in her Budget, the Chancellor will be setting out plans to roll out a new generation of neighbourhood health centres to deal with the crumbling NHS we inherited and to build an NHS that is fit for the future.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Laura Kyrke-Smith and Wes Streeting

Tuesday 22nd July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

I can certainly reassure the shadow Minister on this. The Minister for Public Health has already accepted that recommendation and is working at pace on implementation. May I wish the hon. Lady well in the Opposition reshuffle?

[Laura Kyrke-Smith (Aylesbury) (Lab)]

3. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the 10-year health plan for England on perinatal mental health.

NHS England Update

Debate between Laura Kyrke-Smith and Wes Streeting

Thursday 13th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

The reports relate to the deficits sent into NHS England ahead of the 2025-26 financial year. Those are completely unaffordable for the NHS and completely unrealistic. Those financial plans are being revised as we speak, which is why leaders have gathered in London today to receive that message and that set of instructions. I am asking frontline leaders to improve services and reform ways of working, and they will have my support in doing that. As for the resources that are going in, I gently point out that the investment that the Chancellor unlocked for the NHS and social care in her Budget dwarfs that which was promised in the Green party’s manifesto.

[Laura Kyrke-Smith (Aylesbury) (Lab)]

I held a public consultation in my constituency on the future of the NHS. Participants were crystal clear that we need to cut bureaucracy and get resources to the frontline. When they talk about the frontline, they mean not just hospitals but people out in the community, and, crucially for my constituency, GP practices. Will the Secretary of State share more about how he intends to make that shift?