Oral Answers to Questions Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department of Health and Social Care
Nesil Caliskan
Main Page: Nesil Caliskan (Labour - Barking)Department Debates - View all Nesil Caliskan's debates with the Department of Health and Social Care
(2 days, 2 hours ago)
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Wes Streeting
Absolutely: the NHS always does better under a Labour Government.
Nesil Caliskan (Barking) (Lab)
Barking community hospital in my constituency has been providing antenatal services to mothers in Barking for many years, and women also use its services to give birth. I was therefore really disappointed when I heard last week that the maternity birthing unit is likely to close. Many in my community are deeply concerned. They are being redirected to Newham hospital, which the Care Quality Commission has rated as “requires improvement”. Women deserve to give birth in a safe clinical environment. Will Ministers ensure that additional attention and resources are provided to Newham hospital, so that it improves its standards and my constituents who are being redirected to give birth there can do so in a safe clinical space?
Wes Streeting
Making sure that women are giving birth safely is the ultimate priority and the least that women deserve. I understand my hon. Friend’s anxiety about this reconfiguration, and she is right to raise that with the ICB in the first instance. We are happy to meet her as Ministers, too. The crucial thing is that the services are configured and delivered in a way that prioritises the safety of women and their babies.