MSP in 'constructive' talks with health secretary over Moray maternity service

MORAY'S MSP has held "positive and constructive" talks with Scotland's health secretary on the restoration of a full-strength maternity service at Moray's biggest hospital.

The unit at Dr Gray's Hospital remains at midwife-led level since being temporarily downgraded in 2018 due to staffing issues.

The lack of a consultant-led maternity service in Elgin means that, nearly three years on, many women face upwards of 70-mile journeys to Aberdeen to give birth.

Moray SNP MSP Richard Lochhead says the situation impacts more widely than healthcare, affecting Moray's appeal for young families and therefore has a knock-on effect for the region's economy.

Back in August 2018 Health Secretary Jeane Freeman had asked NHS Grampian to come up with a plan for the restoration of the consultant maternity unit.

Last month NHS Grampian chief executive Professor Caroline Hiscox told Mr Lochhead that timescales for work on a new maternity service model had been impacted by the pandemic, but the work was a matter of high priority as the NHS moved into Covid recovery.

Mr Lochhead met Ms Freeman yesterday to push for progress.

The MSP said today: "I had a positive and constructive meeting with the Health Secretary Jeanne Freeman, who strongly reiterated the Scottish Government’s commitment to restoring a consultant-led maternity service at Dr Gray’s.

"I conveyed my view and that of Keep MUM, and the many constituents who have contacted me, that we need far more urgency from NHS Grampian and a clear, credible plan and a timetable for the restoration of the service, to ensure the vast majority of women in Moray are once again able to have their babies delivered locally and not have to travel to Aberdeen.

"I also explained that rather than NHS Grampian simply saying we need to ensure that any restored service is safe and sustainable, we need NHS bosses to explain what exactly needs to be done to ensure it is restored in a safe and sustainable way and then put the building blocks in place.

"I urged the health secretary to consider what further intervention she can make to bring this about."

Mr Lochhead added: "This is a crucially important issue for the people of Moray.

"As well as being about a safe service for local women and families, it is also about the future of our economy because we need young families to move to the region and also to retain young people who aspire to have a family.

"It’s also about supporting the midwives and medical staff and consultants at Dr Gray’s who need to maintain their skills and professional development.

"The health secretary has promised to write to me in the next week or two outlining the steps she intends to take following our meeting."