By Mark Langabeer, Hastings and Rye Labour Member
The wall to wall coverage of the conflict in Ukraine has eclipsed the growing economic and social problems at home. In fact, it will intensify these problems. The Tories, and unfortunately, also Labour’s frontbench are suggesting that working people should be prepared for a financial hit, in the name of ‘democracy and freedom’.
The tops of the Army are also demanding more military spending to counter the Russian threat. Guns, not butter will be the approach of the establishment. For a while, they may succeed in getting people to tighten their belts, however, as history demonstrates, at some point, a reaction to falling living standards will emerge.
If readers of Left Horizon become weary of the barrage of propaganda in the media about the Ukraine conflict, they can tune into a very good BBC 2 Panorama documentary about the scandal of maternity care at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals. According to a parliamentary report in the early 2000s, it was thought that child birth had been ‘over medicalized’. One in five births had been performed via caesarean sections. At the time, Shrewsbury Hospital and the Shropshire Health Authority had been praised because they had a higher proportion of natural births than anywhere else in England.
However, it emerged that a number of new-borns had died during labour, due to negligence on the part of Shropshire Health Authority. Complaints were often treated by denials and in some cases, blaming expectant mothers for these tragic deaths. Panorama’s reporter, Michael Buchanan, interviewed a number of mothers and their partners about their experiences. It would be difficult not to me moved by their stories of heartbreak, especially as these deaths were avoidable.
The programme reported that problems also emerged in Morecombe Bay. A report said that eleven babies and one mother had died due to delays in performing caesarean sections. The policy of increasing natural births at all costs was compromising safety and has been abandoned by most health authorities. Shropshire’s Health Authority appeared to have ignored warnings because had been judged by the local Clinical Commissioning Group as providing a quality service.
Unnecessary deaths in Shropshire area
Problems continued to mount, and a review was conducted by a midwifery expert. She believed that understaffing and a lack of consultation with expectant mothers were the principal reasons for the unnecessary deaths of new-borns in Shropshire. Midwives and other health professionals were unable to spend the time that should have been required when expectant mothers begin labour.
The NHS has reported massive staff shortages, nationally, standing at over 100,000. The stresses and strains of overwork at low pay is taking a toll week in and week out as staff are burnt out and many leave. This is yet another recipe for future healthcare scandals. NHS staff need much better levels of pay and better conditions to attract and retain staff. It requires the restoration of grants for training of new staff and ending privatisation of healthcare provision. This was spelled out in Labour’s 2019 manifesto and it should be the road that Labour’s leadership take.
The Panorama programme (picture above) is still available on i-player and can be found here.
