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| Miliband promises midwife for every mother giving birth | |
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| A Labour government would provide 3,000 extra midwives to ensure women giving birth have one-to-one maternity care, Ed Miliband has announced. | A Labour government would provide 3,000 extra midwives to ensure women giving birth have one-to-one maternity care, Ed Miliband has announced. |
| Miliband unveiled the plans at the launch of his party’s health manifesto for England on a day when the future of the NHS rose to the top of the election agenda. | Miliband unveiled the plans at the launch of his party’s health manifesto for England on a day when the future of the NHS rose to the top of the election agenda. |
| George Osborne announced in the Guardian on Saturday that the Conservatives would provide an additional £8bn each year above inflation to fill the funding black hole in the health service. | George Osborne announced in the Guardian on Saturday that the Conservatives would provide an additional £8bn each year above inflation to fill the funding black hole in the health service. |
| But Miliband said it was Labour, the party that formed the health service, who would restore the right values to its heart and “prepare our NHS for the challenges of the future”. He accused the Tories of trying to “fund the NHS on an IOU”, as he attempted to take back control over the issue. The public health service is regularly listed by voters as the most important issue in the election campaign. | But Miliband said it was Labour, the party that formed the health service, who would restore the right values to its heart and “prepare our NHS for the challenges of the future”. He accused the Tories of trying to “fund the NHS on an IOU”, as he attempted to take back control over the issue. The public health service is regularly listed by voters as the most important issue in the election campaign. |
| Related: Lack of nurses ‘is causing crisis in community care’ | Related: Lack of nurses ‘is causing crisis in community care’ |
| Miliband pledged that under Labour a woman would receive care from a designated midwife for the entire labour and birth period. “There is no more important moment for us in relation to the NHS than when we’re bringing a new life into the world. All of us know from our own personal experience that it is a nervous and anxious time but it is an incredibly special time,” he said at the event in in West Yorkshire. | Miliband pledged that under Labour a woman would receive care from a designated midwife for the entire labour and birth period. “There is no more important moment for us in relation to the NHS than when we’re bringing a new life into the world. All of us know from our own personal experience that it is a nervous and anxious time but it is an incredibly special time,” he said at the event in in West Yorkshire. |
| “At times like that you need to know you’re in safe hands. You need the reassurance of a personal relationship, you need one-to-one care. But we know that too many women are left in labour on their own, creating uncertainty at a time when security is everything.” | “At times like that you need to know you’re in safe hands. You need the reassurance of a personal relationship, you need one-to-one care. But we know that too many women are left in labour on their own, creating uncertainty at a time when security is everything.” |
| The Labour leader said the pledge would be enabled by the £2.5bn “time to care” fund which will train additional doctors, nurses and midwives funded by his party’s proposed mansion tax, a levy on tobacco companies and clamping down on tax avoidance schemes. | The Labour leader said the pledge would be enabled by the £2.5bn “time to care” fund which will train additional doctors, nurses and midwives funded by his party’s proposed mansion tax, a levy on tobacco companies and clamping down on tax avoidance schemes. |
| He said that meant a “dedicated midwife by your side all the way through to the birth of your child … keeping you secure during the most important journey you’ll ever take.” | He said that meant a “dedicated midwife by your side all the way through to the birth of your child … keeping you secure during the most important journey you’ll ever take.” |
| The shadow health minister, Liz Kendall, said the pledge would mean one-to-one care, leading to safer births, fewer caesareans, less postnatal depression and a better start in life for babies. | The shadow health minister, Liz Kendall, said the pledge would mean one-to-one care, leading to safer births, fewer caesareans, less postnatal depression and a better start in life for babies. |
| Related: Conservative party pledges extra £8bn a year for NHS | Related: Conservative party pledges extra £8bn a year for NHS |
| A baby boom and a shortage of midwives has left maternity services stretched, with the National Audit Office raising concerns in 2013 that staff shortages led to some maternity units temporarily closing. | A baby boom and a shortage of midwives has left maternity services stretched, with the National Audit Office raising concerns in 2013 that staff shortages led to some maternity units temporarily closing. |
| A Conservative party spokesman said the government had already increased the number of midwives by over 2,100 since 2010. “Since 2012, we have been investing and training 2,500 midwives every year to ensure that future mothers have a named midwife overseeing their care,” he said. | A Conservative party spokesman said the government had already increased the number of midwives by over 2,100 since 2010. “Since 2012, we have been investing and training 2,500 midwives every year to ensure that future mothers have a named midwife overseeing their care,” he said. |
| Liberal Democrat spokesman Lord Scriven said Labour had a shameful record on midwifery when in government, overseeing a critical shortage of staff. | Liberal Democrat spokesman Lord Scriven said Labour had a shameful record on midwifery when in government, overseeing a critical shortage of staff. |
| Writing in the Guardian, the chancellor said his party’s funding pledge demonstrated an “absolute commitment” to meeting the £30bn-per-year funding gap by the end of the decade identified by Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England. | |
| But Miliband attacked the plans as unfunded at Labour’s health launch, saying: “The truth is you can’t save the NHS if you don’t know where the money is coming from.” | But Miliband attacked the plans as unfunded at Labour’s health launch, saying: “The truth is you can’t save the NHS if you don’t know where the money is coming from.” |