Health in Forres and Moray: Dr Gray's 2026 maternity target welcomed by Health Secretary

Scotland's Health Secretary Humza Yousaf has welcomed the "bold and ambitious" plan to return of a full maternity service to Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin by 2026.

The plan to re-introduce a consultant-led service was approved by NHS Grampian at its board meeting last week.

Speaking during debate at Holyrood yesterday, Mr Yousaf said: "NHS Grampian has now formally submitted their draft plan to me and it outlines timescales and milestones towards the reintroduction of consultant-led births at Dr Gray's in 2026.

"I asked Grampian to be ambitious and bold – and I believe they have fulfilled the brief with this plan."

Since the downgrading of Dr Gray's in 2018 about 80% of Moray women have faced long trips to give birth in Aberdeen.

As a result the Scottish Government as well as NHS Grampian and NHS Highland have been in discussions for the past year about proposals – called 'Model 4' – to spend £5million at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness on improving the staffing levels and facilities of its maternity unit.

The stated aim of Model 4 was to allow more women from Moray to give birth in Inverness instead of Aberdeen until a time when the maternity service is fully restored at Dr Gray's.

However, the Model 4 proposals met with opposition from a group of 22 senior medics at Raigmore who signed an open letter claiming they were "flawed" and failed to add a single bed to the Inverness hospital's capacity.

The plan for Dr Gray's in Elgin now submitted by NHS Grampian states that the term Model 4 will no longer be used with regards to Inverness.

Mr Yousaf added: "As a result of this ambitious plan, we will no longer be proceeding with Model 4 as previously outlined, however I expect NHS Highland and Grampian to continue to work together to ensure sustainable maternity services for women in the North and North East of Scotland.

"Redevelopment of Raigmore maternity unit remains a key part of this journey, to provide vital improvements for women who give birth there.

"I am also pleased to see enhanced complex antenatal care; consultant led triage and day assessment and elective caesarean sections returned to Dr Gray’s in two years’ time – this is very positive for the women of Moray, and will significantly reduce the number of journeys to Aberdeen."

The date for a return of elective C-sections to Dr Gray's is now being given as 2025.

Meanwhile the NHS Grampian's plans to restore a full maternity service at the Elgin hospital by 2026 will be considered by an external team led by Dr Linda de Caestecker.

Once reviewed in full, a further update will be provided to the Scottish Parliament.

Richard Lochhead, Moray's MSP, called on NHS Grampian to have a "laser-like focus" now on recruiting the maternity consultants needed.

He said: "The local community will be relieved that a combination of the Health Secretary’s strong commitment to the full restoration of a consultant led maternity service, along with NHS Grampian at long last producing a proper plan, means everything has now stepped up a gear and we now have a funded route to restoration.

"At one point NHS Grampian was talking about waiting for up to ten years before we saw the full service back again, but now with a renewed focus on restoring the service at Dr Gray’s, the aim is 2026 with an increase in women being cared for locally between now and then.

"It has taken far too long to make progress, but we can’t change the past so we must focus on shaping the future.

"The key now is for NHS Grampian to have a laser-like focus on staff recruitment which is essential for success.

"I am very hearted by the Health Secretary’s commitment to ensuring that funding will be made available to deliver the restored service given the plan points to an initial estimate of nearly £22m of investment needed over the next five years.

"Moray urgently needs a fully functioning maternity service to support local families and our economic future.

"I will continue to hold NHS Grampian’s feet to the fire on this issue.

"I also want to pay tribute to Keep Mum and other local groups as well as the staff at Dr Gray’s given their service to the community."

Ariane Burgess, Highlands and Islands MSP for the Green Party, said: "Moray deserve to have the choice to be able to give birth close to home, for their own well-being, but also to ensure we lessen the risk of people moving out of the area and further entrenching rural depopulation.

"The importance of a positive birth experience cannot be overstated. The experiences constituents have shared with me have been harrowing to read."