Meeting of the Parliament 22 December 2022
I congratulate Douglas Ross on securing the debate, and I congratulate Keep MUM and the other campaigners who ensure that the issue is not forgotten. Like Edward Mountain, I want to highlight the similar plight in Caithness for the community there. I hope that they will not be ignored when fighting for similar services.
No one looking at the photos and film footage in the past week could be anything other than horrified at the prospect of driving in those conditions, yet that is the reality for pregnant women in Moray and Caithness. Imagine having to drive those roads with someone who is in labour, trying desperately to get to a suitably equipped hospital. Where there are enough births to warrant suitably trained staff, there should be support for complex labour and births.
Those of my generation remember the tragic case when a midwife, paramedic and baby died when being transferred from Skye to Inverness on icy roads. It can still happen, and we cannot let it happen again, especially when we have the ability to provide services much closer to people.
Members of the Moray community do not have faith that NHS Grampian will implement model 6, which would reinstate maternity services at Dr Gray’s hospital in Elgin. They do not believe that NHS Highland has the resources or the staff to implement the interim model 4, under which women can elect to go to Raigmore hospital in Inverness rather than Aberdeen. As Douglas Ross pointed out, those concerns regarding model 4 are shared by clinical staff in Raigmore. I take their intervention very seriously.
Keep MUM has asked for independent oversight of the project to reinstate services at Dr Gray’s, by somebody outside the NHS Grampian board. Keep MUM would prefer someone from the community who understands the issue, and I believe that that would be helpful in rebuilding trust. Oversight from someone with the authority of the Scottish Government who can act on behalf of the cabinet secretary might also be required. Such oversight would give comfort to the community, campaigners and politicians such as ourselves that the reinstatement of services was being pursued with sufficient urgency. I ask the cabinet secretary whether he will consider that request and address it today, or undertake to come back at a later date with his thoughts on how it could happen.
Members of the community believe that the basic information on which the models are based is not robust. They believe that many more births will be moved to Aberdeen and Inverness than is suggested.
One of the reasons for originally withdrawing maternity services from Dr Gray’s was staffing, and we have heard about the lack of junior doctors. That is an issue in all rural hospitals and communities and, because of it, we miss out on fully trained staff. We all know that, where people train, they put down roots and stay. If junior doctors are not placed in rural health locations, we lose them forever. That concern applies with regard to all health professionals in rural areas, and it will continue until we ensure that rural areas have an adequate supply of trainees and junior staff.
I have raised the issue with NHS Education for Scotland. I ask that, in summing up, the cabinet secretary says what steps the Scottish Government is taking to ensure that it is addressed.
The NHS Grampian board report is full of caveats, and I share concerns that it might never reinstate full maternity services without a concerted effort. I am also concerned to learn that NHS Grampian does not normally invite elected representatives from Moray to its regular MSP briefings, nor does it brief regional MSPs on progress on these issues, which is absolutely unacceptable. That the board does not believe that it is required to brief elected representatives, especially at a time such as this, gives a sad indication of the importance that it places on the Moray community. I hope that that will change, because it does not give me confidence in NHS Grampian.
17:42