Dr Daniel Poulter MP

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Department of Health

Richmond House

79 Whitehall

London SW1A 2NS

Date: 23^rd July 2013

Dear Daniel,

Marketing on Maternity Wards (EDM 319)

I am writing to express my concern about the presence of commercial interests on maternity wards. Many of my constituents have had experiences, for example, of Bounty representatives - some as parents and some as NHS professionals. The overwhelming feedback they have passed on to me is that they have found Bounty representatives to be an unwelcome intrusion at a crucial time.

As a signatory of Early Day Motion 319, copied overleaf for your information, I would like the Government to stop allowing sales representatives on to all maternity wards; to ensure that materials handed to new parents on these wards are purely for information purposes and do not include any advertising; and to forbid the selling of data acquired at this time being sold on to third parties.

I know that you have acknowledged in an open letter to NHS trusts[1] that marketing representatives have not always paid sufficient consideration to the needs of families. There is a wealth of personal experience that marketing representatives are not in the habit of respecting the privacy and dignity of parents – despite, in many cases, repeatedly being told that their services are not required. It is clear that sales representatives have no place on maternity wards and very much hope you will heed the concerns raised by my constituents.

Yours sincerely,