'Blackmail' claims over mums-to-be
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A WHISTLEBLOWER at Raigmore Hospital has alleged that midwives were “blackmailed” into taking on patients from Elgin in order to prevent Caithness mums-to-be from travelling to Glasgow to give birth.
The midwife, whose identity has been concealed on request as the person is contracted to NHS Highland, said that due to maternity services at Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin being downgraded, expectant mums in Moray had to travel to Inverness to give birth.
A large percentage of women in Caithness also have to travel to Raigmore.
The additional workload from Elgin has led to anger among midwifery staff who are also aggrieved that pregnant Caithness women were allegedly used as a bargaining chip.
The whistle-blower said: “The maternity services at Elgin were downgraded and that meant an influx of new patients on top of the ones we already have from Caithness.
“We made it clear to management that we were overworked as it is and a new batch of expectant mums would increase that even further.
“We asked if they could be diverted to Aberdeen but we were told if we refused to take on Elgin patients then the Caithness ones would be removed from our workload.
“Essentially, that meant that women would have to travel all the way from Caithness to Glasgow in order to give birth.
“We did not want that to happen and we reluctantly took on the extra workload.
“This comes at a time of year when all the Christmas surprises come into the world. September has a high rate of babies being born.
“Staff morale is already at an all-time low. Several experienced midwives are either retiring or leaving because of the added workload and the burden it is causing.”
Bill Fernie of the pressure group Caithness Health Action Team said he was not surprised that a midwife felt compelled to speak out.
He said: “It’s a terrible situation for the staff to find themselves in. They should be commended for all their efforts.
“Travelling to Raigmore places more than enough strain on the mums and their families so going to Glasgow would have added to that. I can fully understand why someone at Raigmore would want to whistle-blow as it appears to be a pretty fraught situation.”
An NHS Highland spokesman said: “Due to the unpredictable nature of maternity activity, cases are assessed on an individual basis and robust risk assessment and escalation plans are in place to ensure safe service provision.
“To date, since accepting intrapartum transfers from Elgin, there has been no need for any Caithness woman to be diverted from Raigmore Hospital to deliver elsewhere due to staffing levels or capacity, as is being suggested by the midwife whom you interviewed.”
