Rhoda Grant asked First minister Humza Yousaf a question about maternity care in Caithness, and was surprised to get a response related to Dr Gray's in Elgin.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 The First Minister will be aware that the A9 North has been closed several times recently,
00:06 cutting Caithness off from the remainder of the mainland and specialist maternity services.
00:11 The First Minister also knows that the Raigmore maternity unit cannot cope, leading to women
00:17 being asked to leave the unit with nowhere to go and 100 miles from home as their labour progresses.
00:24 Despite that, the Scottish Government has paused Caithness health redesign and the Raigmore
00:30 maternity unit redevelopment. Therefore, will the First Minister revisit the downgrade and
00:36 continue the redesign so that women who require specialist maternity care are never again abandoned?
00:42 The member raises very important points. I was involved in the issue when I was the
00:52 Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care and know it well. The member is absolutely correct
00:57 that refurbishments and construction to Raigmore are much required and much needed.
01:06 The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care has outlined the very challenging position
01:13 in relation to capital projects due to the cut that we have experienced in the capital budget
01:18 from the UK Government over the next five years. I will confirm to the member that no final
01:23 decisions have been taken on individual projects in NHS Highland. We absolutely remain committed
01:28 to the reinstatement of consultant-led maternity services at Dr Gray's hospital.
01:33 Any decisions made in relation to Raigmore redevelopment will have no impact on the
01:37 overall plan to return consultant-led services to Dr Gray's by 2026. Notwithstanding all that,
01:44 the member's points are important and crucial. That is why we are keen to update Parliament
01:49 as soon as we can on our capital infrastructure projects.
01:52 >> Stuart McMillan.