The following motion on Retention of Maternity, Medical and Accident & Emergency Services at the Lagan Valley Hospital was lodged in the Northern Ireland Assembly by Jeffrey Donaldson on 4 June 2008.
That this Assembly opposes the proposal by the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust to cut frontline maternity and medical services at the Lagan Valley Hospital; and calls on the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to ensure that the people of the Lagan Valley constituency continue to have access to in-hospital maternity, medical and accident and emergency services in their local Lagan Valley Hospital.
June 13, 2008
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Department of Health, Lord Darzi of Denham, this week told MPs that the Government was working to tackle the problems related to obesity during pregnancy. He spoke about the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health’s report ‘Saving Mothers’ Lives’, highlighting its finding in 2005 that thirty percent of mothers with stillbirths were classed as obese.
Lord Darzi stressed that prevention was a key method of tackling this issue and ensuring all women had sufficient access to maternity care so that they could have the right information and advice, as laid out in the Government’s ‘Maternity Matters’ policy. In addition, the Lord stated that the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) would be publishing a toolkit in 2009 to enable each individual woman to have their risks and needs identified during pregnancy. With regards to prevention he stated that NICE would be developing guidelines on nutrition during pregnancy and also spoke of the value of children’s centres in providing advice on these issues.
Opening the debate, Baroness Rendell of Babergh discussed the threat obesity placed on expectant mothers and their children and the opportunity antenatal care provided in advising women on nutrition and similar.
Earl Howe, as Conservative Shadow Health Minister, highlighted the issues surrounding IVF treatment and obesity. He stated that there had been suggestions from the British Fertility Society and other organisations that a maximum BMI limit should be placed on those wanting IVF.
Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Women and Equality, Baroness Thomas of Walliswood, also highlighted the increased costs to the NHS due to the long-term problems mothers and children would have that were linked to obesity. She agreed that preventative care was vital and stressed that the social aspects of the issue needed to be addressed as well as the medical. Baroness Tonge, Lib Dem Spokesperson, also said the Government needed to take a joined-up approach on children’s health and repeated the idea that community clinics and similar were important.
June 13, 2008
The Lords this week agreed to the Nursing and Midwifery (Amendment) Order 2008 which makes amendments to the framework legislation for the regulation of nurses and midwives including to the Governance of the NMC. Detailing the statutory instrument, Government Whip Baroness Thornton noted that the reforms are aimed at enhancing confidence in the ability of regulatory bodies like the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
The NMC will now become a fully appointed council, rather than partially elected and elections for this year have been cancelled. In addition, the NMC’s annual report would include a description of its arrangements for ensuring equality and the NMC would be given greater prescribing rights in an emergency and the ability to strike of registrants barred from working with children of vulnerable adults. The Royal College of Nursing is supportive of the need to change.
Responding, Conservative Shadow Home Affairs Minister Baroness Hanham expressed concern that the NMC was being reorganised and questioned the expertise of the Appointments Commission in appointing members of the NMC. She also questioned who else would be involved in making decisions of prescribing in the case of emergencies. There was also some concern over the decision to make the council fully appointed and the need to have representation from general nurses, midwives and community nurses on the Council
June 6, 2008
Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab) this week asked the Scottish Executive what services would be devolved to rural general hospitals. In her response the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, Nicola Sturgeon noted that the recommendations of the remote and rural steering group report, “Delivering for Remote and Rural Healthcare”, set out the services that are expected as a minimum-of rural general hospitals. Those services include improved diagnostics, maternity services, emergency care and the management of long-term conditions. She agreed with Rhoda Grant that many services are now being provided in rural general hospitals anyway however, she emphasised that what is set out in the report should be regarded as a minimum. She also pointed out that the report looked at how the model of delivering health care in remote and rural communities can be changed to ensure they are sustainable.
May 29, 2008
Pat McFadden MP, Minister for State in the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform this week confimed that, whilst the maximum number of hours a pregnant woman can be required to work is 48 hours per week, his may be reduced if the hours of work pose a risk to the expectant mother or her unborn child.
In his response to a question put forward by Tobias Ellwood MP, he noted that employers have a duty to protect the health and safety at work of all employees, including new and expectant mothers and mothers who are breastfeeding. As part of this duty employers are required to carry out a specific risk assessment paying particular attention to risks that could affect the health and safety of the new or expectant mother or her child.
Employers are obliged to do what is reasonably practicable to control risks such as making changes to the working conditions; hours of work or offer alternative suitable work. If none of these steps adequately reduces the risk the employee must be suspended from work on full pay to protect her and her un-born child.
May 23, 2008
Liberal Democrat Public Health spokesperson Jamie Stone MSP has written to the Health Secretary demanding urgent clarification of the Scottish Government’s plans for maternity services in the north of Scotland and warns against downgrading maternity.
The Scottish Government has just published an action plan to “secure” the future of six hospitals in Scotland’s remote and rural areas. In the Scottish Government press release that accompanied the report, the Health Secretary promised that everyone in Scotland should have “equal access to the NHS, no matter where they live”. But, she went on to imply that the Scottish Government wants to see maternity services at 6 core rural hospitals being midwife-led. In his letter, Mr Stone notes that twice the consultant-led maternity service based in Caithness General Hospital in Wick has been considered for downgrading to a midwife led service and both times this has been strenuously opposed as a backward step by local people.
May 15, 2008
The Department of Health (DH) has used National Breastfeeding Awareness Week (NBAW) to encourage mothers from low income backgrounds to seek help on breastfeeding. A DH press release notes that breastfeeding is a major public health issue in today’s society with significant inequalities in infant feeding practices. Age is a strong factor, with statistics showing that in the UK, 76% of women start breastfeeding, but for mothers under 20, it’s just 51%.
A decision to breastfeed, especially for the first six months of a baby’s life, can have a huge impact on infant health and development. The DH recommends exclusive breastfeeding up to the age of six months, with continued breastfeeding alongside solid foods after six months. ‘Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives’ a cross-government strategy for obesity ( January 2008 ) aims to reverse the rise in childhood obesity and breastfeeding plays an integral role in this. Breastfeeding provides health benefits for mothers too. It can reduce the risk of against ovarian cancer, breast cancer and weak bones later in life.
The NBAW strapline, ‘Breastfeeding: every day makes a difference to your baby’, reflects the message that each day a women continues to breastfeed is another day the child receives important health benefits from its mother. The plans for NBAW are part of the DH’s campaign to address the inequalities that exist in infant feeding practices highlighted in the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) review of The Infant Feeding Survey (2005).
During NBAW, the DH launched the Breast Buddy initiative, targeted at young mums aged 16 to 25 years. The initiative is fronted by celebrity mum and Atomic Kitten member Jenny Frost. The initiative encourages young mums to get emotional and practical support while breastfeeding by nominating a buddy from within their circle of friends and family. Young mums who sign up will receive an information pack including the NHS leaflet
Breastfeeding: Off to the Best Start and a fridge magnet featuring breastfeeding helplines including the new National Breastfeeding Helpline (0844 20 909 20). Mother and buddy will also receive texts of encouragement for the first six months. Mums can text BUDDY to 60022 to sign up to the campaign.
May 15, 2008
Public Health Minister, Dawn Primarolo welcomed the commencement of the week long initiative to make breastfeeding as easy as possible for mothers across the country, asserting that it was essential to demonstrate that breastfeeding was the normal and natural way to feed a baby.
The National Breastfeeding Awareness Week (NBAW) saw retailers such as ASDA, Woolworths and Mamas and Papas becoming ‘breastfeeding friendly’ places, providing comfortable seating, water and a positive attitude towards breastfeeding. Breastfeeding Friendly Places will show a window sticker to let customers know they are ‘breastfeeding friendly’ – this is part of a wider campaign to promote breastfeeding, particularly targeting young mums during NBAW 2008.
Breastmilk is the best source of nutrition for babies and the Department of Health recommends exclusive breastfeeding up to the age of six months, with continued breastfeeding alongside solid foods after six months. Studies have shown that breastfed babies are less likely to get infections or asthma, become obese or get diabetes in later childhood and that breastfeeding can prevent mums having health problems later in life.
Research shows the majority of mums would like to breastfeed their babies but often give up in the early stages, so it is important to let mums know there is support available to help them continue. Many mums-to-be are put off breastfeeding because they are concerned about breastfeeding in public, it is therefore important for organisations to make it clear that breastfeeding is welcome. Highlighting organisations that adopt a breastfeeding friendly policy is just one of the ways in which breastfeeding mums are being supported. Support is also available through their local breastfeeding groups, from their midwife or health visitor and through helplines such as the National Breastfeeding Helpline – 0844 20 909 20.
May 15, 2008
The British Medical Journal (BMJ) has issued details of a study regarding breastfeeding and rheumatoid arthritis as published online ahead of print in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.
According to the research, women who breastfeed for longer have a smaller chance of getting rheumatoid arthritis. The study also found that taking oral contraceptives, which are suspected to protect against the disease because they contain hormones that are raised in pregnancy, did not have the same effect. Also, simply having children and not breastfeeding also did not seem to be protective.
The researchers compared 136 women with rheumatoid arthritis with 544 women of a similar age without the disease. They found that that those who had breast fed for longer were much less likely to get rheumatoid arthritis.
Women who had breastfed for 13 months or more were half as likely to get rheumatoid arthritis as those who had never breastfed. Those who had breastfed for one to 12 months were 25 per cent less likely to get the disease.
The proportion of women breastfeeding for more than six months has increased dramatically over the past 30 years. The authors concluded that it was difficult to say whether there was a connection between higher rates of breastfeeding and a corresponding fall in the number of women affected by rheumatoid arthritis, but that the results of the study provided yet another reason why women should continue breastfeeding.
May 15, 2008
The Prime Minister used a Commons statement to MPs on Wednesday to set out a raft of future policy plans in his proposed legislative programme for the 2008/09 session of Parliament. The early notification of the proposals is also designed to be an attempt to listen and respond to the public and MPs’ views via a consultation process.
In total there were plans for 18 full bills, linked under four themes of: economic stability; “making the most of your potential”; personalisation and improvement of public services; and “handing back power to the people”. The list of 18 includes an Equality Bill and an NHS Reform Bill which is aimed at taking forward proposals arising from Lord Darzi’s ‘NHS Next Stage Review’ of the NHS in England that would require legislation to enable their implementation.
May 15, 2008
