Nottingham Maternity and Neonatal Services

Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson Excerpts

Monday 29th June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

My noble friend is right to draw comparisons and, as I said earlier, I certainly agree on the point about culture that is made very clearly in the report from Donna Ockenden. I will be looking very closely at that also in the recommendations of my noble friend Lady Amos. As I said earlier, we have sought to make change. I do also think that accountability and transparency are absolutely key. It is one thing to seek to make change, but another for people to feel confident and to know it has happened.

[Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Con)]

I am grateful to the noble Baroness for her eloquent and moving statement and her commitment to taking action on this. The noble Baroness said that the workforce planning recommendations from the Ockenden review and potentially also from the Amos review will be picked up in the maternity taskforce action plan, due at the end of the year. Can she tell us how that will fit with the upcoming wider NHS 10-year workforce plan? Will the wider 10-year workforce plan also look at the staffing and training needed for safer maternity services, and can she confirm when it will be published?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

We are soon expecting the 10-year workforce plan. In its considerations, it will address patient safety, because that is one of the requirements when thinking about workforce. But the really close look in the way the noble Baroness seeks will be through the plan which the taskforce is overseeing, having received the recommendations. It is the case that maternity services, for a whole range of reasons, including the absolutely shocking experiences that we have all referred to, have suffered in some areas because of a lack of safety, a lack of listening, and the wrong kind of culture and leadership—the list goes on. I know that noble Lords will have looked at the report and I would want to ensure that maternity services have their particular focus, in order that what I believe will be a credible plan by the end of the year will take account of the very points that the noble Baroness rightly makes.

Women’s Health Strategy

Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson Excerpts

Thursday 23rd April 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I am sorry to hear of the experience my noble friend has had, and I am sure continues to have in some way. Her experience is reflective of so many women. The education programme for girls about their menstrual health, in which we are investing an additional £1 million, will be delivered through schools and community settings and is absolutely important. If I had to say one thing about the strategy, I would say to women—to us—that we do not need to put up with this. In saying that, you do not always know what is normal, and that is where education comes in and why this is so crucial. Heavy periods are potentially a sign of a number of conditions, including endometriosis, fibroids and others. We will also be working with GPs to improve diagnosis, and we have already introduced “Jess’s Rule”, where, if somebody presents three times with the same or an exaggerated condition, the GP will be required to review it.

[Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Con)]

I would like to add my thanks to the Government and the Minister personally for the commitment and work done to renew the women’s health strategy. Other noble Lords have mentioned maternity services. Could the Minister tell us a bit more about the timetable for the conclusion of the review from the noble Baroness, Lady Amos, and how the new maternity and neonatal taskforce will then translate her recommendations into action and fully integrate maternity and neonatal services into this women’s health strategy, as the Royal College of Midwives has called for?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I thank the noble Baroness. The noble Baroness, Lady Amos, has recently published an interim report. She has been meeting hundreds of families and the national call for evidence is still going on. In the next few months, she will give her final report. The Secretary of State has already chaired a new maternity and neonatal taskforce to develop a new action plan.

We have also not waited to take action on maternity and neonatal care. We have recruited 800 more midwives. We have invested over £140 million to address critical safety risks in terms of the estate, and we are also rolling out guidance to tackle the leading causes of maternal death. This is absolutely crucial and that is why it is taking such a high priority.