Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 11 June 2026 [Last updated 19:16]
11 Jun 2026 · S7 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Maternity Services
I am becoming aware of the history of the range of local issues in different parts of Scotland, including the south-west. We cannot turn back time, so we must look forward and address the issues that are being wrestled with in relation to choice, safety, access and equity—equity irrespective of where a woman stays and in relation to the other challenges that women might face in their lives.
The purpose of the review is to build on the previous work that has been done—we are not going to reinvent the wheel—and to get some impetus, rather than waiting until the cycle of Healthcare Improvement Scotland reports has been completed. The eighth report is due to be published soon, and there will be 18 in total.
We need those Healthcare Improvement Scotland reports, because they shine a light on the good practice, the compassionate care and the value of midwives in this country. They also shine a light on where improvements must be made. The job of the task force will be to work at pace to implement change that, I hope, we can all get behind.
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Kenneth Gibson)
NPA
We move to the next item, which is a statement by Angela Constance on improving maternity services across Scotland. The cabinet secretary will take questions...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Katy Clark)
Lab
I ask members who are leaving the chamber to do so quietly, and I call Angela Constance.14:36
The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Care (Angela Constance)
SNP
This Government is determined to ensure that the maternity services that are provided across our country meet the highest of standards, for all women and the...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Katy Clark)
Lab
The cabinet secretary will now take questions on the issues raised in the statement. I intend to allow around 20 minutes for questions, after which we will m...
Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab)
Lab
I welcome the cabinet secretary’s statement, and I welcome the appointment of Professor Christine McCourt. She has her work cut out for her. For example, ins...
Angela Constance
SNP
I will do my best to answer those points in turn while also trying to achieve brevity.Jackie Baillie said that Professor McCourt has her work cut out for her...
Helen McDade (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Reform)
Reform
I thank the minister for her statement and I welcome the independent review. As someone who has stood for this Parliament once before, in relation to saving ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Katy Clark)
Lab
Members must refer to other members by their full names.
Angela Constance
SNP
For the record, over the past 10 years there has been a 13 per cent increase in the number of qualified midwives, which equates to just under 318 whole-time ...
Laura Mitchell (Moray) (SNP)
SNP
The cabinet secretary will be aware that it is now eight years since NHS Grampian downgraded maternity services at Dr Gray’s hospital. Restoration of a consu...
Angela Constance
SNP
As I said in my statement, we remain committed to supporting the return of obstetric maternity services to Dr Gray’s hospital. Since 2023, we have invested w...
Kayleigh Kinross-O’Neill (Edinburgh and Lothians East) (Green)
Green
I echo the cabinet secretary’s appreciation of, and sincere thanks for, the exceptional dedication of midwives. When they start their journey as midwifery st...
Angela Constance
SNP
The purpose of the midwifery and nursing task force is to look at those issues, and I mentioned the work that Maree Todd will be leading on apprenticeships. ...
Meghan Gallacher (Central Scotland and Lothians West) (Con)
Con
Over the past 10 years, there have been three reviews of maternity and neonatal services. I do not believe that there is any joined-up thinking in this Gover...
Angela Constance
SNP
Ms Gallacher makes an important point about the need to keep mothers with their babies, irrespective of the health needs of the children. We want to ensure t...
David Green (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (LD)
LD
The Liberal Democrats have long called for an independent review, so I welcome the appointment of Professor McCourt as an independent chair. It is imperative...
Angela Constance
SNP
It will be an independent review with an independent chair, but I hope that the principles that have been published today will give at least some reassurance...
Alex Kerr (Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse) (SNP)
SNP
It is vital that everybody planning for a family in Scotland should feel confident that they will have a positive and safe experience of maternity care, wher...
Angela Constance
SNP
Alex Kerr raises a crucial point about equity, which is an issue with regard to access. We have heard about very long journeys, travelling across Scotland, t...
Donald MacKinnon (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (Lab)
Lab
Western Isles hospital maternity care service received an excellent report following an inspection earlier this year, showing that staff are doing a great jo...
Angela Constance
SNP
Donald MacKinnon makes an important pragmatic point. That is why we need all our services and every portfolio in Government to be joined up. The housing fund...
Jenni Minto (Argyll and Bute) (SNP)
SNP
I, too, associate myself with the cabinet secretary’s comments with respect to the staff who work in maternity services, especially those in Argyll and Bute....
Angela Constance
SNP
I am grateful to Ms Minto for her question. She has done, and will continue to do, great work in championing the healthcare needs of women, and she will cont...
Senga Beresford (South Scotland) (Reform)
Reform
I thank the cabinet secretary for her statement. I appreciate the attempts, which she outlined, to address the issues that maternity care in Scotland faces. ...
Angela Constance
SNP
I am becoming aware of the history of the range of local issues in different parts of Scotland, including the south-west. We cannot turn back time, so we mus...
Clare Haughey (Rutherglen and Cambuslang) (SNP)
SNP
I remind members of my entry in the register of members’ interests: I hold a bank nurse contract with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.The Queen Elizabeth unive...
Angela Constance
SNP
We must reassure women, especially those who are currently expecting a baby, that they should be confident in accessing care and that—in recognition that tha...
Cara McKee (West Scotland) (Green)
Green
I thank the cabinet secretary for her statement, and I welcome the commitment to work with black and Asian women to inform the review.I am sure that the cabi...
Angela Constance
SNP
I am acutely aware of the very sobering MBRRACE-UK maternity mortality stats, which show that there is a threefold difference between maternal mortality amon...
Zen Ghani (Glasgow Cathcart and Pollok) (SNP)
SNP
I welcome the cabinet secretary’s statement and the manifesto commitment to an independent report on the maternal mortality that is faced by Scotland’s black...