Hansard

According to the Scottish Government, 23 babies required the use of the neonatal unit at University hospital Wishaw last year—that is 23 babies who were born extremely prematurely, at less than 27 weeks’ gestation, or who had a low birth weight and required intensive care support. At the sick kids hospital—the Royal hospital for children—in Glasgow, there were 27 such babies; in Edinburgh, there were 33; and, in Aberdeen, there were 18. The Scottish Government, in its wisdom, has decided that neonatal services need to be reorganised, with the number of centres being reduced to three and the closure of the units at Ninewells hospital in Dundee, the Victoria hospital in Fife and University hospital Wishaw.

I will focus my remarks on Wishaw. Its unit is an award-winning service in Scotland’s third-largest health board, which serves a significant population of our country. It makes no sense to close the unit, and its closure is vehemently opposed by parents and clinicians. Today, I and the Scottish Labour Party add our voices to theirs.

The appraisal report on which ministers have based their decision is seriously flawed. In a devastating briefing to MSPs, the Government’s approach is exposed. No consideration was given to population deprivation factors in the areas that are served. No consideration was given to the lack of transport links for families or the inequality that will be caused. No consideration was given to the displacement of families from their community networks, which sustain them. No wonder there is a 12,000-strong petition opposing the move, which was started by Lynne McRitchie. Lynne’s son Innes, who is now aged 4, was born in Wishaw, and she is concerned about the level of stress and trauma that having to move extremely premature babies would cause families at a time when they are already extremely vulnerable.

The view from clinicians and senior staff members is equally stark. The data on which decisions were taken is incomplete. No up-to-date evidence base was used. No outcome data will be available, as there is no measurement of baseline. How on earth can we tell whether the model will work if we do not have that information? The Scottish Government is keen to say that it listens to experts and that it is all about evidence-based policy making—but just not when it applies to neonatal units, including the one in University hospital Wishaw. If the minister has evidence, she should publish it. If she is so sure of her ground, she should meet with the clinicians at all the units that she intends to close, and with the parents, too.

There is more. NHS Lanarkshire was not represented on the working group at all, yet other health boards were. There has been no consultation with stakeholders and no consultation with the staff at the neonatal unit or with families, and there is no sign of a Government consultation after it has made its decision. As I recall, the national health service and the Scottish Government are supposed to consult on major service changes—or do the rules not apply when it comes to the Scottish National Party?

Parents will tell you that the staff at University hospital Wishaw are highly skilled and well trained. The specialist neonatal team, including consultants, nurses, midwives and allied health professionals such as pharmacists, dieticians and occupational therapists, are literally life savers. How could the Scottish Government not speak to them? I am completely baffled by the Scottish Government’s tone deaf approach.

Its decision has had a profound impact on staff wellbeing. Nursing students who were seeking a career in Wishaw have withdrawn their applications, and we know that there will be an impact on maternity services, too. I know that the wider question of maternity services is being explored in a debate that will be led by Meghan Gallacher. Colleagues are right to point out the lack of consultant-led maternity services in Elgin, which have been promised by the Scottish Government but with no plan for recruitment or delivery.

Let me turn to another aspect of the neonatal decision, which is staffing levels. Statistics from the national neonatal audit have a very interesting story to tell about the coverage of nursing shifts. A comparison of statistics for quarter 2 of 2023—the latest available statistics—shows that, in Glasgow, coverage for nursing shifts in neonatal units was 65 per cent. In Edinburgh, the same coverage was 56 per cent. In Wishaw, the coverage was 91 per cent—yes, 91 per cent of shifts were covered—making it consistently the best-performing neonatal unit for staff coverage. Why is the Scottish Government closing a unit that has good levels of staffing, which we know matters in securing good outcomes for babies? Neonatal nursing staff at the sick kids hospital tell me that they can barely cope with the number of sick babies that they have to care for now, without adding even more.

Jaki Lambert of the Royal College of Midwives said:

“The best interests of the baby and parents must always be the focus of any service changes ... it is essential that these three units have the capacity for all the babies that will need care, and accommodation for the mothers.”

The Scottish Government would do well to heed those words, as well as the views of expert clinicians and nurses and families.

The survival of some babies will be put at risk by the decision, and the minister must listen and reverse it. SNP MSPs have the chance to pick which side they are on—the side of families and clinicians or the side of their party bosses. I know whose side I am on.

I move,

That the Parliament is concerned by the Scottish Government’s decision to downgrade the award-winning neonatal services in University Hospital Wishaw, which will result in newborn babies who require specialist care being transferred to one of three specialist intensive care neonatal units across Scotland; recognises that many families across Lanarkshire have had their newborn babies cared for in this Neonatal Intensive Care unit, and that they are deeply upset by this decision to withdraw critical services and expertise from local communities, and calls on the Scottish Government to reverse its decision.