Live webchat with Andy Burnham, Shadow Health Secretary: home births, Mumsnet miscarriage campaign and more, TODAY, Wednesday November 16, 11.45am-12.45pm

[RowanMumsnet]

We're very pleased to announce that Andy Burnham will be joining us for a webchat on Wednesday lunchtime between 11.45 and 12.45.

Andy is MP for Leigh, and was Secretary of State for Health during the last year of the Labour government; he is now Shadow Secretary of State for Health in Ed Miliband's Shadow Cabinet, and as such is Labour's leading spokesperson on the changes being made to the NHS and other health issues.

He is spending Wednesday morning giving a keynote speech to the Royal College of Midwives' annual conference in Brighton, during which he's going to focus on giving women the right to choose where to give birth, with the aim of encouraging more home births.

He's also open to questions about Labour's health record (including what they got wrong) and his support for the Mumsnet Campaign for Better Miscarriage Care - along with anything else you'd like to ask about.

Do join us for the webchat. As ever, if you can't make it, please post up your advance questions here.

Thanks,
MNHQ

Do you think the government are on the right track with the new welfare reform plans?

slug - I know what you're saying, but I want to put a plea in for the important work of hospital Chaplains. There is a tendency for the NHS to focus exclusively on the clinical aspects of care and I think at times we neglect the human side. Spiritual and emotional support is an important part of getting better.

turnupthebass - I think the way the Government pre-empted the Hutton report and imposed a 3% tax on NHS staff was nothing short of disgraceful. People are already facing pay freezes and rising costs of petrol, thanks to this Government's VAT rise, and this will make life even harder. I accept that changes will need to be made to public sector pensions to make them affordable and sustainable in this century of the ageing society. But it should be done by dialogue and negotiation rather than provactively seeking conflict for political purposes.

Hi Andy. I'm sorry, why can't the Chuches pay for the chaplins? I don't understand why the taxpayer does. It cost the taxpayer £29 million last year. Surely this money could be better spent on essential services.

If anything, chapliancy services are ripe for outsourcing.

Andy has to rush off to his next meeting in a mo - so just time for 1 more. Great new re miscarriage Andy - thanks and we'll hold you to that!

wannabestressfree - I'm glad you've asked about mental health as this is an area where I want to signal a major shift of focus. When the NHS was set up in the post war period, the focus was all on physical ill health, treating disease and the effects of industrial illness and accidents at work. But life has moved on. We are all living longer lives (thanks to our wonderful NHS) but also facing more instability, stress and uncertainty in our lives due to the demands of the modern world. We need to adjust our priorities to reflect this and invest more than we currently do in good preventative mental health services.

Andy - thanks for the reply and good to know you support the principles of the strike. As well as the increased contributions in a time of pay freeze and high inflation, the other major issue is being told you have to work until 66, rather than 60, to be paid a lower pension in the end.
What effect do you think the strike will have?

LouW81 - I do support your call. As Health Secretary I left plans in place to recruit more midwives by 2012. David Cameron made a similar pre-election pledge, but I just cannot see how he's going to deliver it. He also promised real terms increases in the NHS budget, but delivered a real terms cut in his first year in office. He promised a moratorium on hospital changes but is now closing A&E and maternity services around the country. And he promised no top-down reorganisation, but brought forward the biggest and most dangerous since 1948. Three huge broken promises from our Prime Minister, for which, if he doesn't change course, he will pay a very heavy political price.

Brilliant, incisive and informative questions from home births to pies and mascara. Hope my answers were ok. Thanks for taking the time and effort to post your questions, sorry I couldn't get through more of them. In general I'm really encouraged by the love out there for our NHS.

I'm off now to shadow a paramedic from the South East Coast Ambulance service - never a dull moment in this job! Sadly you can't get Poole's pies in Brighton. Best wishes, Andy

Thank you for reply. Its much appreciated and I agree.

Thank you so much for your support Andy - I did not vote Conservative (True Labour Supporter) in the General Election and I do hope he does pay the price for his broken promises if he does not change things. Thank you again

Group B Strep is the most common cause of life-threatening infection in newborn babies in the UK, typically septicaemia, pneumonia and meningitis. Other western countries test pregnant women for GBS late in pregnancy and have seen the numbers of babies sick and dying from GBS infection fall dramatically - in the US by over 80%. We don't test in the UK and our numbers are rising. The NHS doesn't even make good quality GBS-detection tests available at the request of health professionals for pregnant women.

There's an online petition asking that every woman is routinely given accurate information about group B Streptococcus (group B Strep or GBS) during antenatal care; every low-risk woman is offered a sensitive test for GBS, ideally at 35-37 weeks of pregnancy; and every higher-risk woman is offered antibiotics in labour. GBS is the UK?s most common cause of life-threatening infection in newborn babies. Offering antibiotics in labour to Mums whose babies are at raised risk would prevent most of these infections. epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/4854 - would you sign and support it?

Very disappointed that he had time to answer a question about which mascara he uses, yet not the one straight after that, about Robbie's Law.

Very telling about his priorities.

Spin over substance, anyone?

Eleven actual answers to questions - hardly earth shattering.

At least we know about pies and mascara.

Quite.

I have to say I agree. I know he was pushed for time but he did seem to cherry-pick his answers.

MincePie - exactly my thoughts. Oh well...he is a politician*. What did we expect?

*and labour to boot