Hansard

I am happy to speak on this important topic, and I congratulate my colleague, Meghan Gallacher, on bringing the debate to the chamber.

What could be more important to a country than providing the best start in life for all children? I cannot imagine the fear and anxiety that any parent will experience when they find out that their baby will be delivered before the due date and will need specialist neonatal care to help them thrive—or even, unfortunately, to survive. Nonetheless, that is the case for one in seven babies born in the UK.

What that means is that approximately 5,200 babies are admitted to neonatal units in Scotland every year, and that more than 5,000 families are facing the worst circumstances for their newly born baby that they can imagine. They put all their trust and hopes in the skills of the highly trained staff, knowing that they are in no position to provide the levels of care that are needed. Their beautiful new baby is suffering, but there is nothing that they can do about it. The feeling of helplessness must be overwhelming.

I have not had to experience that situation, but I think that we can all empathise with the panic and stress that must arise from it. It is what led to the review of the best start new model of neonatal care, the report of which was published back in 2017, and reaffirmed by the minister in 2023. We might have concerns about the downgrading of some of the neonatal units, but we are halfway through 2025 and so much more still needs to be done, with staffing levels and accommodation for parents still needing intense focus.

I thank Bliss for giving me sight of its briefing for today’s debate. It was really worrying to read of an 88 per cent shortfall in Scotland between the recommended AHPPP—or allied health professionals and psychological and pharmacy professionals—staffing levels in units and the staffing levels that are being achieved. That is 20 per cent worse than the UK average, and I hope that the minister will address that particular issue in her closing remarks.

Another worrying statistic in the briefing concerns accommodation. The briefing highlights that, for every 10 babies needing to stay overnight in a unit, there is only one room for a parent to stay with them. That means that parents are routinely separated overnight from their newborn during their time in neonatal care. The stress that I mentioned in my opening remarks can be only heightened when distances and lack of family support are factored into the emotional mix. The costs involved will be prohibitive, with accommodation, food and travel costs all having to be met, especially as getting funding for those costs, although welcome, is a cumbersome process. I hope that the minister will take on board the recommendations from the Bliss briefing, not only to address the staffing and residential shortfalls but to provide a much-needed timetable for the implementation of the agreed neonatal model.

In conclusion, I acknowledge the work that has been done, as far as it goes, and as much as we might have concerns about the part of it that goes in the wrong direction of downgrading, I stress the urgency of moving forward at pace with the staffing and accommodation aspects. For every child who deserves to have the best start in neonatal care, we, in this place, should ensure that the correct staffing levels are in place to guarantee that that happens. For every parent who has to deal with emotional stress when they should be rejoicing in the birth of their beautiful child, we, in this place, should minimise the additional stress factors as much as possible. For every family facing this situation, we, in this place, should ensure that there is clarity and commitment for the future. That is the very least that we can do.