Anger as NHS boss cancels baby unit trip
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NHS Highland chief executive Elaine Mead has prompted a backlash after a bad weather forecast led to her cancelling a trip to Wick to attend a meeting about the far north maternity service.
Community representatives keen for Caithness General to retain its consultant-led baby unit say while Mrs Mead could not travel, the health authority is expecting more local mothers-to-be to make 100-mile plus trips down the A9 in all weathers.
Ms Mead was due to attend a Wick Community Council meeting on Monday night to discuss the future of the maternity unit at Caithness General.
Interest in the meeting was enhanced after the John O’Groat Journal revealed last week that a report is set to recommend that the top-floor unit should lose its consultant status unless its care of newborns was improved. The report was commissioned by the health authority into the circumstances of the death of a newborn at the hospital last September.
Since the tragedy, women giving birth for the first time along with pregnant women who require caesarean sections and induction of labour have been referred to Raigmore Hospital.
Ms Mead cancelled her scheduled trip from Inverness after heavy rain and winds of up to 70mph were forecast for Monday evening.
Her call-off sparked widespread criticism on social media from campaigners who asked why pregnant mothers are being asked to drive 100 miles south if officials consider it unsafe to travel north in such conditions.
Wick community councillor Joanna Coghill said they were inundated with responses on their Facebook site after Ms Mead’s cancellation.
“How can they now ask people to make their way down the road?,” she said.
Sinclair Bay Community Council chairwoman Kimberly Spiers said Ms Mead’s cancellation emphasised the danger of travelling from Caithness to Inverness to give birth during the winter.
She said: “It’s ironic she is not prepared to drive north in bad weather but expectant mothers are being asked to drive down in the ice and snow.
“The change in services has already affected a lot of my family and friends, some of whom are due to give birth in the next few weeks and they’ve been told to go Inverness.
“If they go into labour while up here, they might have to be driven down in extreme weather conditions.
“NHS Highland are giving out the message do what we say and not what we do.
“They are happy to come up and tell us what we should be doing.
“It’s one rule for them and another rule for everybody else.”
Wick Highland councillor Gail Ross said Ms Mead’s decision is ironic given the travel issues which arise from the number of health services which have been transferred south.
She wants to see the consultant-led unit retained and said it is vital NHS Highland answer the public’s concerns.
“I understand completely why NHS Highland are requiring complicated births to go to Raigmore at the moment,” she said.
“I fully support this decision because of the ongoing investigation. I hope a conclusion will be reached very shortly so we can start to implement whatever recommendations that are put forward for the safety of both mothers and babies.
“The reason I see an irony in Ms Mead’s unwillingness to travel is down to the huge amount of other services that are being centralised in Inverness.
“Routine blood tests for children, treadmill tests, ENT appointments, dermatology and chiropractor services are just some of the things I’ve had feedback on recently.
“People are getting fed up with seeing a perfectly good hospital on their doorstep which is not being fully utilised.”
Mrs Ross added: “We were assured last year that moves were under way to make more use of the second theatre in Caithness General and that we would see more specialised services come to Caithness.
“Once the investigation into the maternity unit is complete and we see what we are dealing with, I would like NHS Highland to take part in a public meeting so that people can ask questions and have their say because there are a lot of rumours flying around Caithness at the moment that need to be addressed and addressed honestly.”
NHS Highland yesterday registered its disappointment with the public reaction to Ms Mead’s decision to cancel the meeting due to bad weather.
“We are very surprised and extremely disappointed to see such remarks,” said a spokesman.
“The response we got from Wick Community Council when we called to say we would not be travelling due to the adverse weather caused by Storm Henry was: ‘That’s fine and understandable.’
“As we made clear last week we would not be commenting further on maternity services until we get the final report into the Significant Adverse Event Review.”
