Laura Kyrke-Smith
Main Page: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)Health and Social Care Committee
Laura Kyrke-Smith Excerpts(1 day, 18 hours ago)
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Paulette Hamilton
I absolutely agree with the hon. Member. The ringfenced funding was removed. The Committee was told through its inquiry that the funding can still be used—it is just in other parts of the budget. But if we do not have that funding ringfenced, it will not be prioritised. That means that women will continue to suffer in maternity services. I absolutely agree with the hon. Member.
Laura Kyrke-Smith (Aylesbury) (Lab)
I welcome the work of the Committee and I commend my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Erdington (Paulette Hamilton) for her personal leadership on this critical issue. Black women are twice as likely as white women to be hospitalised with mental illness during the perinatal period. Does my hon. Friend agree that this is a shocking statistic, and that as we look at the way forward to improve maternity outcomes, we must ensure that mental and physical health are given equal weighting?
Paulette Hamilton
Mental health is something that I have been interested in for years. During the inquiry we did not specifically focus on mental health, but it came up through some of the personal statements a number of times. I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend that mental health should have parity of esteem with physical health. Without good mental health, there is no health.