Health Secretary Yvette Cooper has criticized the National Health Service (NHS) for treating women and babies as “second-class patients” and outlined plans to improve maternity care during her address at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool. Cooper pledged to make enhancing maternity services and supporting new families a top priority.

In her speech, Cooper proposed appointing an independent maternity commissioner to oversee standards and accountability within maternity care. She also announced a plan to reinstate Sure Start-style services to as many as 1,000 family hubs across England within the next two years. First launched in 1998, Sure Start programs combined early education, childcare, health, and family support services for children under five, but funding cuts after 2010 led to a substantial reduction in its reach.

Cooper’s remarks come amid ongoing concerns over patient safety and care quality in maternity wards, fueled by a number of high-profile scandals in recent years. The Health Secretary emphasized that the NHS’s founding principles envisioned comprehensive support “from the cradle to the grave,” but she maintained that in recent times the care provided at the start of life has often been neglected.

The proposed independent commissioner role would be tasked with championing the needs of mothers and newborns, ensuring that maternity standards are consistently met across NHS trusts. Meanwhile, the reintroduction of Sure Start-style services aims to provide integrated, community-based support to enhance early childhood development and parental wellbeing.

Cooper’s commitments reflect a shift towards addressing longstanding criticisms of fragmented and under-resourced maternity services, with a focus on delivering equitable and high-quality care for all women and babies. Implementation details and further policy proposals are expected to be outlined in the coming months as part of a broader strategy to rebuild trust in NHS maternity provision.