Displaying items by tag: health care

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has warned that poor maternity care in NHS hospitals could become 'normalised' without urgent action. A report based on 131 inspections between August 2022 and December 2023 found that 48% of maternity units were rated as 'requires improvement' or 'inadequate’, while only 4% were rated as 'outstanding’. The report highlights systemic issues across NHS services, echoing previous high-profile investigations, such as the Ockenden Review into over 200 baby deaths at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital. The CQC emphasised that the problems identified are widespread and not limited to a few hospitals. The lack of proper equipment, space, and safety measures raises significant concerns about the potential normalisation of serious harm in maternity care. Health secretary Wes Streeting expressed his dismay, stating that childbirth should not be an experience women fear or look back on with trauma. The report stresses the need for immediate reforms to ensure the safety and dignity of women and newborns.

Over 600 medical professionals signed an open letter to the Prime Minister and the first ministers of Scotland and Wales, calling for the revocation of ‘at home' abortion schemes immediately, becausen of the risks to women's health and welfare. Each government has been in consultations whether to make the temporary policy permanent. Carla Lockhart MP said that the permissions granted by the Government without adequate parliamentary and public scrutiny have put women's physical and mental health at risk. 7% of British women reported being pressured into an abortion by a husband or partner. It is greatly concerning that the department of health saw fit to remove the routine in-person consultation before an abortion. Lack of sufficient ID checks over the online consultation process also poses the threat of pills being falsely obtained for another person, which raises particular concerns regarding cases of underage sexual abuse and trafficking.