Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to (a) monitor the progress of and (b) evaluate maternity and neonatal safety improvement schemes.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Improving safety and outcomes for women and babies is central to NHS England’s Three year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services, which is built on recommendations from recent maternity safety inquiries and specifically addresses the key themes raised in them.
The Plan includes determining success measures that will be used to monitor outcomes and progress in achieving key objectives on the plan. To facilitate monitoring against the key objectives, NHS England published technical guidance which includes information to provide clarity on the data sources and indicator construction for these measures.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their response to the conclusion in the 2020 final progress report of the Each Baby Counts programme run by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists that 7 per cent of parents in 2018 were not invited to local reviews into still births, deaths of babies who died within seven days of birth, or births of babies with severe brain injury.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has introduced several initiatives which seeks to ensure that parents are engaged in reviews following adverse outcomes, and that lessons are learnt within the National Health Service.
The Perinatal Mortality Review Tool (PMRT) provides objective and standardised reviews for bereaved parents about why their baby died. It also aims to ensure local and national learning to improve care and ultimately prevent future baby deaths. All bereaved parents have the option to be involved in a high-quality review of the death of their baby via the PMRT. The fifth annual Perinatal Mortality Review Tool report highlighted that parental engagement with the PMRT has improved. 96% of parents in the United Kingdom were told that a review of their care would take place. Parents’ perspectives of the care they received was reported as having been sought from 95% of these parents. A copy of the report is attached.
The Maternity and Newborn Safety Investigations (MNSI) Programme conducts single-case investigations into specific cases of stillbirths, neonatal deaths, maternal deaths and brain injuries. It is within the remit of the programme to analyse data to identify key trends and provide system wide learning to the health system. Parental engagement is a key aspect of the investigations conducted by the MNSI.
To improve maternity services in England, NHS England published the Three year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services in March 2023. The plan sets out how NHS England will make maternity and neonatal care safer, more personalised, and more equitable for women, babies, and families. A copy of the plan is attached.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their response to the conclusion in the 2020 final progress report of the Each Baby Counts programme run by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, based on reviewers' assessments, that 74 per cent of babies might have had a different outcome if the NHS had learnt lessons and improved outcomes.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has introduced several initiatives which seeks to ensure that parents are engaged in reviews following adverse outcomes, and that lessons are learnt within the National Health Service.
The Perinatal Mortality Review Tool (PMRT) provides objective and standardised reviews for bereaved parents about why their baby died. It also aims to ensure local and national learning to improve care and ultimately prevent future baby deaths. All bereaved parents have the option to be involved in a high-quality review of the death of their baby via the PMRT. The fifth annual Perinatal Mortality Review Tool report highlighted that parental engagement with the PMRT has improved. 96% of parents in the United Kingdom were told that a review of their care would take place. Parents’ perspectives of the care they received was reported as having been sought from 95% of these parents. A copy of the report is attached.
The Maternity and Newborn Safety Investigations (MNSI) Programme conducts single-case investigations into specific cases of stillbirths, neonatal deaths, maternal deaths and brain injuries. It is within the remit of the programme to analyse data to identify key trends and provide system wide learning to the health system. Parental engagement is a key aspect of the investigations conducted by the MNSI.
To improve maternity services in England, NHS England published the Three year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services in March 2023. The plan sets out how NHS England will make maternity and neonatal care safer, more personalised, and more equitable for women, babies, and families. A copy of the plan is attached.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the ability of low-income families to access the NHS Healthy Start scheme.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Healthy Start scheme helps to encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies and young children under four from low-income households who are in receipt of qualifying benefits. In December 2023, uptake for the Healthy Start scheme was 73%.
Systems are in place to help eligible families apply for and access the scheme. The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) is committed to increasing uptake of the Healthy Start scheme as much as possible to ensure all children have a healthy start in life. NHSBSA actively promotes the Healthy Start scheme through its digital channels and has created free tools to help stakeholders promote the scheme. There is an online application process, allowing for quick outcomes to applications, as well as a helpline to assist with the application process or general questions.
The eligibility criteria for the Healthy Start scheme are kept under continuous review.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of pediatric waiting times.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department and the National Health Service are committed to ensuring that babies, children, and young people are prioritised in integrated care systems and that reforms in the Health and Care Act 2022 aiming to improve child health and wellbeing outcomes are delivered on the ground.
NHS England has established a National Children and Young People Elective Recovery Delivery Group, bringing together the national Elective Recovery Programme, the Children and Young People’s Transformation Programme and other stakeholders. This group aims to accelerate progress and ensure the recovery of paediatric services keeps pace with recovery of adult elective care.
We are making good progress bringing down all waits, including those for children.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to help ensure that family hubs provide therapeutic interventions to pregnant mothers who are at risk of having their baby removed.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is investing around £300 million through the Family Hubs & Start for Life programme to enable 75 local authorities to create family hubs, and to improve vital services to give every baby the best start in life.
Family Hubs are about bringing together professionals and services to provide support that families need. As part of the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, the government is investing around £100 million for perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationship support, which includes therapeutic start for life services. These services would be available to women who are at risk of having a baby removed from their care if they have mild-moderate perinatal mental health or parent-infant relationship difficulties.
Staff in the Family Hub know what services are provided where locally, and can connect families to services, information and support relevant to a family's specific needs. This will include supporting families to access evidence-based health improvement advice and interventions.
The programme sets out that local authorities are best placed to design their services to meet local needs. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/family-hubs-and-start-for-life-programme-local-authority-guide.
This investment in Family Hubs is significant. It will have a wide reach across the country, improving outcomes for thousands of babies, children, and families.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Streatham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department issues guidance to healthcare professionals on having conversations with Black and Asian parents on potential medical risks to them and their baby.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Improving personalised maternity care is a key element of NHS England’s Three Year Delivery Plan for Maternity and Neonatal Services, which commits to ensuring that all women have a Personalised Care and Support Plan in place and make informed decisions about their care through fully understanding the risks, benefits and consequences of the choices they have.
The Three Year Delivery Plan also aims to improve equity for mothers and babies, and outlines the responsibility of Integrated Care Boards to publish and lead implementation of their Local Maternity and Neonatal System (LMNS) Equity and Equality Action Plans. LMNSs have published their plans to tackle disparities in outcomes and experiences of maternity care at a local level, which NHS England supported with £6.8 million investment and national guidance. Trusts are responsible for providing services that meet the needs of their local population, paying particular attention to health inequalities.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to establish a Royal Commission into the future of maternity services.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no current plans to commission a public inquiry into the future of maternity services. Recent independent reviews of maternity services in Shrewsbury and Telford and East Kent have highlighted the need for change and the action required. To bring together the recommendations from these reviews, NHS England has published a Three year delivery Plan for maternity and neonatal services, which sets out how the National Health Service will make maternity and neonatal care safer, more personalised, and more equitable for women, babies, and families. A copy of the plan is attached.
All our efforts are currently focused on implementing the recommendations and actions from recent maternity reviews without delay, many of which were aimed at improving all maternity services across England.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what percentage of funding announced for NHS services in 2023 will be spent on child health services.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As the financial year has not yet concluded, outturn data on National Health Service spending in 2023/2024 is not yet available. The Government is committed to ensuring that babies, children, and young people are prioritised in integrated care systems, and that the reforms in the Health and Care Act 2022 to improve child health and wellbeing outcomes are delivered on the ground.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to reduce elective backlogs in child health services.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England continues to action the Delivery Plan for Tackling the COVID-19 Backlog of Elective Care, aiming to reduce the number of patients waiting over a year for treatment, including for child health services.
The Department and the National Health Service are committed to ensuring that babies, children, and young people are prioritised in integrated care systems, and that reforms in the Health and Care Act 2022 aiming to improve child health and wellbeing outcomes are delivered on the ground.
To join up work, NHS England has established a National Children and Young People Elective Recovery Delivery Group, bringing together the national Elective Recovery Programme, the Children and Young People’s Transformation Programme and other stakeholders. The group to accelerate progress and ensure the recovery of paediatric services keeps pace with recovery of adult elective care.