New Health Spokesperson demands action as CQC report released

New Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Helen Morgan has urged the government to make maternity care a key priority as a CQC report revealed major nationwide concerns with the quality of maternity services.

The report was published just days after a motion was passed at Liberal Democrat conference calling for national maternity ambitions to be expanded and enhanced in a bid to make the UK the safest place in the world to have a baby.

Helen, who has just been made the Lib Dem Spokesperson for Health and Social Care, has already worked closely on the issue in her role as chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Maternity.

The North Shropshire MP spoke on maternity at conference, where a Liberal Democrat motion called on the UK Government to ensure that commitments made in the Workforce Plan are backed by adequate funding and include expansion of the wider maternity and neonatal workforce.

Chronic issues with recruitment and retention were highlighted by the CQC in a report that confirms issues uncovered during the baby death scandal in Shropshire are widespread across the country.

The hard-hitting CQC report warns that preventable harm and poor care will become normalised if action is not taken, with almost half of 131 locations inspected rated as ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’.

Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson and MP for North Shropshire, said, “The ongoing postcode lottery of maternity care must end. That means raising standards across the board and making sure that no mother or baby is put at unnecessary risk. 

“Unsafe staffing levels and practices can have tragic consequences, as so many families here in Shropshire have experienced first hand.

“Despite several reviews and inquiries, this new CQC report makes clear that much more progress needs to be made.

“Improving maternity care must be a key priority for the new government as it seeks to address the broader crisis in our healthcare system.”

Notes

• The CQC report can be read in full here: https://www.cqc.org.uk/publications/maternity-services-2022-2024
• The Liberal Democrat policy motion is available in full here. It was passed by conference after a debate summated by Helen Morgan MP