Women’s Health

Helen Maguire Excerpts

Thursday 27th February 2025 Westminster Hall

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Huq. I thank the hon. Member for Hastings and Rye (Helena Dollimore) for bringing forward this very important debate.

The UK currently has the largest gender health gap in the G20 and the 12th largest in the world. It is high time that we focus on these disparities. Let me start with breast cancer. Breast cancer does not only affect women, of course, but the vast majority of cases are in women, with one woman being diagnosed with breast cancer every 10 minutes.

Over the last 20 years, the prognosis for women diagnosed with breast cancer has improved significantly. Women diagnosed with primary breast cancer today are 66% less likely to die from the disease within five years. That is encouraging news, but we cannot stop there.

Detecting breast cancer in its early stages drastically improves a woman’s chances of survival, but young women face huge challenges when it comes to being diagnosed. That is particularly harmful, because younger women are more likely not only to develop aggressive forms of the disease, but to be diagnosed at a later stage when the tumours are larger and have spread to the lymph nodes. As a result, younger women have a significantly worse prognosis, a higher risk of recurrence, and a greater chance of death compared with older women.

Even more alarmingly, cancer cases in women under 50 have increased by nearly 80% worldwide over the last 30 years. In the UK, breast cancer diagnoses in women under 50 have been steadily rising, and in 2013, we saw over 10,000 cases for the first time. Yet despite that growing trend, routine breast cancer screening still does not begin until women turn 50. Why do we start so late? It is an alarming trend and the Government must look at it. I know that the UK National Screening Committee advises on the decision about who to screen, and I have been assured that it will be looked into, but I mention it today to urge the Government to make progress.

Another issue affecting many women in Bath is gynaecological care. A new report from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said the UK has a “gynaecology care crisis”, with over 750,000 patients currently waiting for treatment for a serious condition.

[Helen Maguire (Epsom and Ewell) (LD)]

My constituent, a GP, got in contact after she recently had to cut specialised contraception services in her practice due to national insurance hikes and inadequate funding. The services were running at a loss, making them unsustainable. Does my hon. Friend agree that that lack of funding is short-sighted and will harm health outcomes, and that all women should have equitable access to contraception?

[Wera Hobhouse]

I could not agree more. We already have a crisis, which that will only exacerbate, so I thank my hon. Friend for rightly highlighting that issue.

My Bath constituents are at particular risk. A recent report said that appointment waits have doubled since the pandemic—another serious trend that the Government need to look at. A constituent recently reached out to me about the length of time it takes to get an endometriosis diagnosis in the NHS, which has already been mentioned today. That is not only a problem in Bath; far too many women wait far too long. The Government need to look at that.

In better news, the national maternity survey 2024 found that Bath’s Royal United hospital received a top Care Quality Commission rating over its treatment of patients. The survey found that those giving birth felt confidence and trust in staff during their care at the RUH. There was also praise for the dignity and respect people that were treated with. I am grateful to the RUH and all its staff for setting such a brilliant example, and offer them my congratulations.

In such a debate, I cannot, as chair of the eating disorders APPG, leave out eating disorders. Although they affect more women than men, it is not only women who suffer from them. One issue of particular concern is online platforms recommending harmful eating disorder-related content to young users. The Center for Countering Digital Hate, whose representatives I met this week, recently published research on the dangerous eating disorder videos recommended by the YouTube algorithms. It set up an account for a 13-year-old girl searching for body image and dieting content, and found that, of the next videos recommended by the YouTube algorithm, one in four was harmful eating disorder content. That is alarming.

I urge the Government to look into that and to hold these powerful digital platforms to account. In 2025, it is not acceptable that there are continuing disparities in women’s health and, in particular, young women’s health on this issue. I urge the Government to take action.

Maternity Services

Helen Maguire Excerpts

Tuesday 25th February 2025 Westminster Hall

[Helen Maguire (Epsom and Ewell) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Christopher. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Chichester (Jess Brown-Fuller) on securing this hugely important debate. Today I will highlight both the excellence and the challenges of maternity services in my constituency of Epsom and Ewell.

Last year, the dedicated staff of Epsom and St Helier university hospitals delivered more than 3,400 babies. Their commitment to patient care is outstanding, with care being ranked No. 1 in London for patient experience. Both units have also achieved UNICEF UK baby friendly hospital initiative gold accreditation, reflecting their exceptional support for new mothers’ feeding choices. Those outcomes are testament to the experience, compassion and hard work of the staff, despite the conditions they work under.

Our maternity services are held back by infrastructure that is simply not fit for purpose. Some of the hospital buildings at Epsom and St Helier are older than the NHS itself. Those conditions make it harder to provide the high standards of care that mothers and babies deserve. At St Helier hospital, the maternity unit’s lift regularly breaks down, making it increasingly difficult to safely transfer maternity patients to intensive care or the main theatres. Both Epsom and St Helier hospitals lack waiting areas and suitable space to maintain privacy, making it harder to implement a nationally mandated triage system and to provide private spaces, which are vital for bereaved families.

Every year, the trust spends millions just on patching up these crumbling facilities, which is not sustainable. The cost of maintaining outdated buildings and equipment diverts critical resources away from the frontline. Furthermore, staff are stretched thin by running duplicate services across two sites, which affects patient outcomes. The promised new hospital in Sutton was meant to solve those problems by bringing together emergency care, maternity services and in-patient paediatrics in a modern, specialist facility. However, the Government have pushed construction back to at least 2032, leaving our community in limbo. Meanwhile, Epsom general hospital alone needs £44 million-worth of repairs, with 46% classed as high risk, meaning that failure to address them could lead to serious injury or major service disruption. If the UK is to be the safest place in the world to have a baby, we must do better.

Beyond the building, staffing remains a critical issue. A local midwife recently shared with me the reality of working in our maternity services. She described how the staffing problems in maternity continue to be dire. There simply are not enough midwives rostered each day to cover the work, which makes it unsafe for women and their babies, and creates an unsustainable working environment for those left behind. Midwives are working longer hours, starting early or leaving late, taking on more than they should just to ensure women are seen. This leads to burnout, and many midwives ultimately leave the profession as they feel that the stress and huge responsibilities are not matched by adequate support or fair pay.

As a woman, the midwife told me how deeply saddened she is that this is the service being offered to women in this country. The care a woman receives during childbirth has lifelong implications—not just for her, but for her children and for society as a whole. She worries that women’s choices, particularly around home births, are becoming increasingly sidelined. Women’s autonomy over their own bodies is becoming less relevant, and she fears what that means for the future of maternity care for our daughters and granddaughters. Her worries reflect those of so many across the country.

I have three children, all of whom were born successfully in London. I wanted a home birth for all of them. Sadly, we were only successful in having one home birth due to complications, but I am grateful that I had the choice. I thank Brierly midwives for that, but not every woman today has that choice.

The people of Epsom and Ewell, Leatherhead and Ashtead—and around the UK—deserve outstanding maternity care, unhampered by crumbling infrastructure, chronic understaffing and a lack of investment. As a first step, I urge the Government to release the full impact assessment of the delays to the new hospital programme and reconsider the decision. We cannot afford to let maternity services deteriorate any further. The safety of women, babies and midwives depends on it.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I am grateful to the hon. Member for Chichester (Jess Brown-Fuller) for raising this extremely important issue. It touches so many of our constituents and so many families across our country, and I know how many of them she and other Members have spoken to. As the Secretary of State said, it is an issue that keeps him awake at night. The hon. Lady spoke very movingly about her friend Steph and Steph’s son, Bendy, whom I know she remembers very fondly. We have had too many decades of similar stories, but she did good service to her friend and Bendy today.

I will do my best to answer as many questions as possible—it has been a wide-ranging, respectful and thoughtful debate—but the Minister for Patient Safety, Baroness Merron, who leads on this issue for the Department, will be happy to write to colleagues where necessary.

The hon. Member for Chichester asked a number of questions at the end of her speech, and I hope that I will address most of them. I completely understand why she is pushing on behalf of the families that the Secretary of State met for the maternity services plan to be outlined. Families have waited long enough, but we want to make sure we get it right, so we are taking time within the Department to discuss the next steps with officials and ensure that any plans we put out are as strong and effective as possible; we have had too many plans that have not been. Those families will receive an update on the next steps very soon.

I will come on to some of the essential actions from previous reports, but I will re-emphasise that all Donna Ockenden’s recommendations were accepted and are being worked on. I will pick up on that later in my speech.

On workforce and training, we will publish in the summer the refreshed long-term workforce plan. That will set out how we will build a transformed health service over the next decade, and obviously it will include midwifery.

[Helen Maguire]

Will the Minister give way?

[Karin Smyth]

I will, but I will not be able to get through my speech if I keep giving way.

--- Later in debate ---

[Helen Maguire]

I will be very brief. La Retraite sixth form in London has a T-level qualification in health with midwifery, linked up with Guy’s and St Thomas’, and it is proving successful. Will the Minister consider working with the Secretary of State for Education to look at rolling that out throughout the country? It is proving really successful in getting new midwives into the system.

[Karin Smyth]

The hon. Lady raises something very close to my heart. I spoke frequently in opposition about apprenticeships and the need for the health service to work on that. I actually visited that centre with the chief nursing officer and met students there. It was a lovely visit; we had a fantastic morning with really enthusiastic young people who wanted to go into the profession. The hon. Lady makes an excellent point, and we will continue to work with Guy’s and St Thomas’ on that. Others could take note of what they are doing.

We understand the issues with the CQC. They are well documented and were further highlighted by the hon. Members for Cheltenham (Max Wilkinson) and for Chelmsford (Marie Goldman). We do not think now is the time to make changes to the statutory limitation power, because we want the CQC to prioritise improving its regulatory approach and focusing resources on the recovery plan in line with the Dash report. Once that is done and the CQC is working better, the Government have committed to reviewing that statute of limitation power.

With regard to phonelines, Sands and Tommy’s do fantastic work for bereaved parents across the country— I know that from my own Bristol South constituency. We are always open to new ideas and suggestions from the experience of people working on the ground. I will ask officials to consider recording triage phonelines as part of our longer-term work on maternity and neonatal services. Many hon. Members raised general points about communications. The hon. Member for Chichester was right to mention communication for parents—both mothers and fathers. That was a point well made, and I will pick it up later.

Donna Ockenden rightly commands huge respect across Government, parties and the NHS. She was right to say that previous Governments were “asleep at the wheel” on maternity care. We have heard already, but it is worth restating, that babies of black ethnicity are twice as likely to be stillborn as babies of white ethnicity. The maternity workforce is experiencing significant challenges and safety in maternity care is very far from where we want it to be.

Hon. Members highlighted their meetings with families. The Secretary of State and Baroness Merron have met a number of bereaved families over the past few months, as I know others have done. My hon. Friend the Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tom Rutland) talked about the families he has met. He highlighted that when he talked to me recently about issues in his constituency.

As with so many issues in healthcare, there is no quick fix to the challenges we face. There have been too many high-profile independent reviews into maternity services over the past few years. With remarkable consistency, they all point to the same thing: a culture that belittles women, downplays concerns and puts reputations above all else, even patient safety. We know that is wrong and we know what needs to happen. It is now time to crack on and deliver.

We are making steady progress on recommendations from all 15 areas of the Shrewsbury and Telford review, such as workforce accountability and bereavement care. Much of that progress has been made through NHS England’s three-year delivery plan. The plan seeks to make maternity and neonatal care safer, fairer and more tailored to every woman’s needs, by setting out expectations for informed choice and personalised care planning, to improve women’s experience in labour and birth.

Some of the initiatives have been highlighted today. The saving babies’ lives care bundle, helping to reduce stillbirths and pre-term births, has been rolled out to every trust in England. I am pleased that all 150 maternity and neonatal units in England have signed up to the perinatal culture and leadership programme, an initiative to promote and sustain a culture of safety. There are also initiatives to reduce inequality. As I know from my constituency, women living in deprived areas are more likely to suffer adverse outcomes. It is right that local systems are trying to bridge the gap through equity and equality action plans.

We have set clear expectations for escalation and accountability through the three-year plan. We are supporting staff to hold up their hands when things go wrong, through the freedom to speak up initiative. The public can monitor the progress of the three-year plan against the Ockenden recommendations, through their local maternity and neonatal systems and integrated care boards. Local women and families, should they choose, can see what progress has been made, who is accountable and how the system is changing. NHS England is also investing £10 million every year to target the 10 most deprived areas of England.

Safety must be the watchword at every step of the journey. NHS Resolution’s maternity incentive scheme is rewarding NHS trusts that prove they are taking concrete steps to improve the quality of care for women, families and newborns. As highlighted by the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth (Dr Evans), since 2010 the neonatal mortality rate has shown steady signs of improvement, decreasing by a quarter for babies born after at least 24 weeks of pregnancy. The stillbirth rate in England has decreased by 22% and the overall rate of brain injuries occurring during or soon after birth has fallen by 3%.

We all know there is so much more to be done to improve outcomes for mothers and babies, and to ensure that they receive the safe care that they need. There are ongoing initiatives to ensure lessons are learned from every tragic event, to prevent similar events in future. Hospitals carry out internal perinatal mortality reviews, which aim to provide answers for bereaved parents about why their baby died, and give them some closure. The reviews also help hospitals to improve care and ensure we learn the lessons from every tragedy.

The maternity and newborn safety investigations programme conducts independent investigations of early neonatal deaths, intrapartum stillbirths and severe brain injury in babies after labour. All NHS trusts are required to report those incidents, carry out an independent investigation and make safety recommendations to improve services in future. For those parents who go through the heartbreak of losing a baby, we must do everything we can to support them in their grief. That is why the Government extended the baby loss certificates; as of last week, we have issued almost 100,000 to grieving parents. It is also why, through the three-year plan, we have made provision for seven-day bereavement care supported by investment, and why we will continue to support the work of Sands and Tommy’s, which do so much for bereaved mums and dads across the UK.

The hon. Member for Chichester rightly talked about the importance of workforce and meeting safe levels of staffing. Throughout the winter I have seen up close NHS staff doing their absolute best in appalling circumstances that were not of their own making. I know that however dedicated our NHS staff may be, they cannot provide the right care without the right support. That is why we are committed to tackling the retention and recruitment challenges in the NHS, and why work is under way to modernise NHS working cultures and make our hospitals more attractive for top talent. That includes a much stronger focus on health and wellbeing, more support for flexible working and a renewed commitment to tackling inequality and discrimination.

Bringing in the staff that we need will take time, but it is an absolute priority for this Government and for me personally. NHS England is leading a range of initiatives to boost retention of existing staff and ensure the NHS remains an attractive career choice for new recruits. I say to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) that we are keen to work with all devolved Governments to ensure that and to share learning.

There is a dedicated programme for the retention of midwives, an issue highlighted by the hon. Member for Chichester and my hon. Friend the Member for Calder Valley (Josh Fenton-Glynn). The initiative contains a range of measures, including a midwifery and nursing retention self-assessment tool, mentoring schemes, strengthened advice and support on pensions, and the embedding of flexible retirement options.

NHS England has also invested in retention leads for every maternity ward. Alongside investment in workforce capacity, that has shown promising signs of bringing down vacancy, leaver and turnover rates. The leaver rate declined from 10.3% in September 2023 to 9% in September last year. There has been progress, but we know that there is more to be done. As of November, there were a record number of midwives working in NHS trusts, with around 24,700 working full time, up by over 1,300 compared with the year before.

While all this work is going on, we are also doing the hard yards of fixing the foundations of our NHS and making it fit for the future. I am pleased that the National Institute for Health and Care Research has commissioned over 40 studies looking at how we can prevent pre-term births and improve care for babies and women. It has launched a £50 million funding call, challenging researchers and policymakers to come up with new ways of tackling maternity inequalities and poor pregnancy outcomes.

While that work is going on, we will continue to talk to staff about the 10-year plan. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is attending a staff event in Peterborough on Thursday, and I will be attending one next week. We want to know how we can better support our staff, ensure we unleash their potential and give patients the care they need. A central part of the 10-year plan will be our workforce—how we train them and provide the staff, technology and infrastructure the NHS needs to care for patients across our communities. The hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Helen Maguire) is right to highlight the estate, which is also a problem in this area. We need to consider all policies, including those that impact maternity and neonatal care.

Over 95,000 people have responded to the consultation so far, and we want to hear from more. We have heard in this debate about midwifery-led care from my hon. Friend the Member for Lichfield (Dave Robertson), and about mental health support from the hon. Members for Eastleigh (Liz Jarvis), for Winchester (Dr Chambers) and for Dewsbury and Batley (Iqbal Mohamed). I hope that they contribute to the consultation.

I am conscious that I need to give the hon. Member for Chichester a few moments to wind up. We know that we will not be able to fix these issues overnight. We are committed to investing in safety, workforce retention and tackling inequalities, and we are making steady progress. As was highlighted, most women have safe care with a healthy baby, and are made to feel special at a very special moment. That is a testament to the staff. We need to make sure that that happens for all women, everywhere. A lot of work has been done. There is a lot left to be done, but I am confident that we will build a maternity and neonatal system that delivers for every woman.

Hospice and Palliative Care

Helen Maguire Excerpts

Monday 13th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Helen Maguire (Epsom and Ewell) (LD)]

I start by thanking the compassionate, dedicated and caring hospice staff and volunteers who, year round, support patients and their families through some of the most difficult moments of their life. I welcome this debate, which highlights the need for greater, more consistent Government support for the work of delivering that vital care.

Most pressingly, we must ensure that fiscal policies do not negatively impact our hospices, because hospices are pillars of our healthcare system. They support over 300,000 people annually and provide not just outstanding clinical care, but emotional and psychological support. I have seen at first hand the many ways in which hospices work to bring some sense of comfort and normality at a very distressing time, from providing group activities and special events to creating quiet spaces for reflection. Hospices are not just care providers; they are vital partners in the healthcare system, reducing pressure on NHS services by offering specialist in-patient care and community-based services. Hospices prevent unnecessary A&E visits and facilitate timely hospital discharges.

When hospices are forced to cut services, the burden on the NHS only grows. That makes long-term support for hospices not just compassionate but practical. A constituent recently contacted me to tell me about her husband’s experience. Unfortunately, there was no room for her husband at my constituency’s local hospice, the Princess Alice hospice. My constituent strongly believes that her husband’s end of life experience would have been more peaceful and less painful had he been admitted there. Instead, he was left at home, in extreme pain for hours. The community nurses did eventually come to administer pain relief, shortly after which he passed away, but my constituent has expressed that the whole experience was deeply traumatic for her and her children, and urged me to call for more funding, so that other families can be spared such distress.

Despite the crucial role of hospices, the hospice sector is at breaking point. As a fundraiser, I work closely with hospices, and I know just how precarious their financial situation is. Many people do not realise how little of hospice care is funded by the Government. On average, the Government fund only one third; for the remaining funding, hospices are reliant on charitable donations. This imbalance leaves hospices vulnerable to financial crises as, thanks to rising costs and inconsistent donations, they fail to bridge the gap. This funding model does not work. One in five UK hospices has had to cut services in the last year, or was planning to, due to insufficient funding, and this trend will continue unless action is taken.

Although I welcome the Government’s £126 million package for hospices, we must see it for what it is—a stopgap, not a long-term solution. We need a plan to put hospices on a sustainable, fair and consistent financial footing. A long-term reform of hospice funding is needed as part of the NHS’s 10-year plan. Hospices such as Shooting Star and Princess Alice embody the values of compassion and community. They provide comfort where there is pain, hope where there is despair and dignity where there is loss. It is our responsibility to ensure that they continue this vital work.

NHS Backlog

Helen Maguire Excerpts

Monday 6th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Helen Maguire (Epsom and Ewell) (LD)]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan) for securing this debate. The backlog in the NHS is a national crisis, and it is acutely felt in my constituency. Patients, families and staff are bearing the brunt of an overstretched and under-resourced healthcare system. This morning I was delighted to see the Prime Minister and the Health Secretary at Epsom hospital in my constituency—part of the Epsom and St Helier trust—to announce this Government’s plans to tackle the backlog of tests, checks and treatments. I welcome many aspects of today’s announcement. Direct access to checks will cut unnecessary waiting times and, if implemented well, will result in better patient outcomes as health issues are found earlier.

The location of this announcement at a hospital connected to St Helier hospital was particularly potent. Over the Christmas period, St Helier hospital, which has been at the heart of healthcare in the community for generations, made the news again. Its sinking floors and leaky ceilings illustrate the failings of our NHS. The facility is failing. Some of the buildings are older than the NHS itself and are plagued by damp, mould and structural issues that impede patient care. The hard-working staff at St Helier hospital are doing their best in impossible circumstances, but the reality is that the current infrastructure hampers their ability to provide the level of service and the quality of care that my constituents deserve.

Epsom hospital, too, is struggling to cope with demand. Over the winter recess I heard harrowing stories from constituents who faced unacceptable A&E waiting times. One mother brought her child to Epsom hospital with a suspected broken wrist and endured a seven-hour wait for an X-ray, finally leaving in the early hours of the morning. While there, she encountered another mother with a nine-month-old baby who had a bump on its head. They left after six hours without being seen because they simply could not wait any longer. One constituent’s 86-year-old mother was told by the 111 service to go to A&E at Epsom hospital after an injury, only to be informed that there would be a 10-hour wait, meaning she would have to stay up until 2 am after a potentially serious injury. These are not isolated incidents, but rather the lived reality for many families. These delays stem from a combination of rising demand, staff shortages and an ageing infrastructure that cannot keep pace.

While I welcome the fact that elective care capacity will increase, hopefully reducing the waiting times for care for many patients, this must also come with a focus on improving emergency care. Ring-fencing elective beds while people waiting for emergency care are dying in corridors or leaving without being checked is nonsensical. We must increase the number of staffed hospital beds to end degrading corridor care. Further, there must be a qualified clinician in every waiting room to ensure that any deteriorating conditions are picked up on.

Locally, it is vital that the Epsom and St Helier hospitals are at the front of the queue for necessary repairs and that the new specialist emergency care hospital in Sutton is at the top of the priority list for this new hospital programme.

[Luke Taylor (Sutton and Cheam) (LD)]

The Epsom and St Helier hospitals trust covers my constituency as well, and many of our residents rely on those hospitals for their care. Does my hon. Friend agree that it was previous Conservative Government’s absolute failure to deliver one of the 40 new hospitals promised in 2019 that led to the degradation in care for residents across both our constituencies? In addition, does she agree that the Government must come forward with the funding that residents in both constituencies need, to reassure them that their healthcare needs will be met into the future?

[Helen Maguire]

I absolutely agree that it is partly a failure of the previous Conservative Government that the hospitals have not been built. It is vital that the Epsom and St Helier hospitals trust is put at the top of the list as a priority for a new hospital. A new hospital will improve outcomes by consolidating critical services under one roof, easing the strain on staff who are currently stretched across two sites. Moreover, it will enable the Epsom and St Helier hospitals to focus on elective care, diagnostics and out-patient services, which will help them to tackle the backlog more efficiently. Crucially, the new hospital will expand the overall number of beds. Centralising major acute services will address estate challenges, strengthen staffing levels and improve patient outcomes, which will reduce the intolerable waiting times experienced at Epsom and St Helier hospitals.

I turn to the distressing delay in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder assessments. In September 2024, the Darzi report highlighted the stark reality that demand for ADHD assessments has grown so significantly that it risks overwhelming available resources. Nationally, it could take an average of eight years to clear the backlog at the current rate.

My constituent Sophie has been facing the brunt of this backlog. She has been waiting since June 2020 for an adult ADHD assessment, and she will wait quite a bit longer, as Surrey and Borders partnership NHS foundation trust has informed me that it is addressing referrals from as far back as March 2019. The root cause is a mismatch between demand and funding. The service was commissioned to support 400 assessments annually, but it receives 400 referrals every two months. Sophie, like many others, has been advised to seek private assessment, an option that is financially out of reach, as she has been unemployed due to her symptoms. This inefficient system should be reconsidered to help reduce the enormous backlog. The situation is wholly unacceptable.

[Mr Paul Kohler (Wimbledon) (LD)]

A third of children with a serious eating disorder are not seen within the NHS waiting time standard. Does my hon. Friend agree that such delays only make matters worse, leading to sicker children, more suffering and greater costs to the NHS?

[Helen Maguire]

I absolutely agree that prevention is key. If we do not deal with issues immediately, they will just take longer to deal with and be more costly in the long term. The people of Epsom and Ewell simply deserve better. They deserve a healthcare system that works for them, not against them. I urge the Government to act swiftly to address these issues, and to deliver the investment and reforms that our NHS so desperately needs.

Income Tax (Charge)

Helen Maguire Excerpts

Tuesday 5th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Helen Maguire (Epsom and Ewell) (LD)]

It is important that we recognise how the previous Conservative Government left the NHS in a weakened state, with soaring GP waiting times, crumbling hospital buildings, and promises of new hospitals that they simply could not deliver. The Liberal Democrats welcome the £22.6 billion of funding for the NHS, and the £3.1 billion of capital funding for the NHS estate. However, far too many people are struggling to get a GP appointment when they need one, which can lead to misdiagnosis or delays, with people often having to go to A&E instead. It is great that the Budget includes dedicated funding to improve GP practices, but more focus is needed on the recruitment and training of GPs, and on ensuring that we retain experienced GPs. It is therefore disappointing that GP surgeries are not exempt from the rise in employer’s national insurance, as that will ultimately reduce the number of staff they can employ, which will affect everyone. We need to prioritise general practice so that more people can be treated in the community, as that is better for individual health and will cost the NHS less. We believe that everyone should have the right to see a GP within seven days.

I was also disappointed that there was no specific mention of dentistry in the Budget. Tooth decay is one of the most common reasons for hospital admissions in children aged between six and 10, and more than 100,000 children have been admitted to hospital with rotting teeth since 2018. More funding is needed to guarantee access to an NHS dentist for everyone needing urgent and emergency care.

On the new hospital programme, hopefully one of the new hospitals will at some point be built in our constituency, but I was disappointed not to hear more about that. It is good that hospitals with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete will be addressed urgently, but we desperately need more details on that now. Buildings such as St Helier hospital are simply deteriorating, with issues such as sinking foundations, leaking roofs, and outdated infrastructure. Epsom hospital can no longer cope with current demand, and we urgently need a new specialist emergency care hospital. My constituents simply cannot wait any longer for their promised new hospital, and the country should not be forced to fund inefficient health provision. I look forward to hearing from the Secretary of State in the new year with more information about that.

Many constituents who are just above the threshold for pension credit have contacted me about how the lack of the winter fuel payment will affect them. It will particularly affect those in ill health, because they need to turn on the heating earlier and for longer. While pensioners have been asked to apply for pension credit, Dorah-May from Age Concern in my constituency has contacted me. She said that applying for pension credit is a minefield, and that is why people from Age Concern go around all the time to help and support elderly people with that. Charities and small businesses will also be negatively affected by the Budget, and that is disappointing.

I will wrap up by urging the Government to look at raising money by reversing the Conservative tax cuts for big banks and by asking social media giants to pay their fair share.

Mental Health Support

Helen Maguire Excerpts

Thursday 10th October 2024 Westminster Hall

[Helen Maguire (Epsom and Ewell) (LD)]

It is an absolute pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd, as I speak for the first time in Westminster Hall. I thank the hon. Member for Ashford (Sojan Joseph) for securing this important and timely debate on World Mental Health Day, and for speaking so well.

Mental health can affect any of us at any time, young or old. Unfortunately, too many people simply do not get the support they need and some go on to take their own life. Speaking personally, husbands of two friends of mine, a friend’s brother and a friend have taken their life, destroying families who are left behind figuring out how to cope.

Since becoming the MP for Epsom and Ewell, I have been shocked by the lack of mental health support, but also amazed at the ingenuity of local residents to provide it in its absence. I had the pleasure of meeting Charley Moore the other day—a Surrey female firefighter and founder of an all-female support group in Epsom and Ewell called Grow and Glow. She had a mental health crisis last year and found it very difficult to access support. She found many mental health groups for men, but she could not find any specifically for women, so she set one up.

I was also proud to meet two mental health charities the other day that were recognised at the BBC Surrey and Sussex Make a Difference Awards last week in my constituency. One was We Power On, which is a men’s mental health “walk and talk” support group set up by Chris Waller after he and his friend reconnected during lockdown and discovered that they were both struggling with their mental health. He won the bravery award. He takes people out at the weekend, walking on the lovely Epsom downs and sharing their experiences.

The other charity, Joe’s Buddy Line, was set up by Ivan Lyons, who won the community award and is one of my constituents. Ivan’s son was an award-winning radio producer on Capital Radio. Sadly, in 2020, Joe took his own life. Through Joe’s Buddy Line, Joe’s family advocate for mental health to be treated equally and with the same seriousness as physical health. The charity provides mental health support, advice and resources for schools. It is encouraging schools to put a mental health policy in place in every single school, giving teachers the support that they need to support the young people of today. The charity has highlighted to me that currently it is not a statutory requirement for a school to have a mental health policy. Such a policy would foster a whole-school approach, so today I am calling for a statutory requirement for all schools to have a specific mental health policy.

Too many people are simply suffering and too many lives are being lost, yet some of that is preventable. Early intervention and prevention are absolutely key. First, to ensure that our young people get the support they need before they reach crisis point, we need to equip them with the tools they need to build resilience to cope with modern life. We must ensure that no one feels alone in their mental health journey, and we need to normalise conversations about how we are feeling mentally. I am absolutely proud that in my constituency, individuals such as Ivan, Chris and Charley are taking the initiative to champion mental health support for everyone and fill in the gaps that they have identified in the services. Let us not forget—

[Peter Dowd (in the Chair)]

Order. Please sit down. May I reiterate that this is a very sensitive subject, and I do not want to have to stop people in mid-flow when they are talking? This is a very sensitive issue and it would sound rude, so I exhort hon. Members to keep to the three-minute limit. It is regrettable, as this is a very important subject, but please keep to the limit, because— I reiterate—this is such a sensitive subject, and I do not want to cut people off at a sensitive point.