Labour is pledging one-to-one midwife care for women during childbirth in its health manifesto for England.
The measure is on top of a promise of 3,000 more midwives, funded under the extra £2.5bn a year raised for the NHS by measures including a "mansion tax".
It comes as David Cameron is to confirm a Conservative government would match a Lib Dem pledge to spend an extra £8bn on the health service by 2020.
A Tory spokesman said the coalition had recruited more than 2,100 midwives.
Labour says it will enshrine the one-to-one pledge in the NHS constitution, as part of measures funded through a tax on properties valued at more than £2m, a crackdown on tax avoidance and a levy on tobacco firms.
Policy guide: Health and care
This issue includes NHS funding, GP access and social care, particularly of older people.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, shadow health minister Liz Kendall said the pledge would mean one-to-one care, leading to safer births, fewer caesareans, less post-natal depression and a better start in life for babies.
Around £480m a year is spent on clinical negligence cover for maternity services, she added, saying many midwives were quitting the job because of "huge pressure", leading to worse care.
Labour leader Ed Miliband will say: "When our two sons were born we received brilliant care from NHS midwives. I know how important this is for mothers, for babies - and for fathers too - at this special but nerve-wracking time.
"But too often staff shortages in the NHS means nurses, doctors and midwives feel they don't have the time to offer the care that they want - and families need."
In 2013, the National Audit Office said an extra 2,300 midwives were needed in order to meet a "widely recognised benchmark" of one midwife to 29.5 births.
The Royal College of Midwives welcomed Labour's announcement but said community services also needed sufficient staffing for care before and after birth.
A Conservative spokesman said management cuts and increased efficiency had allowed the coalition to recruit more than 2,100 midwives.
"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 has a shameful track-record on midwifery. When in government they oversaw a critical shortage of staff with midwives' workload increasing by a quarter in just six years."
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Labour offers one-to-one midwife care
Dengan url
http://cangkirtehhangat.blogspot.com/2015/04/labour-offers-one-to-one-midwife-care.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Labour offers one-to-one midwife care
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Labour offers one-to-one midwife care
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar