EDWARD MOUNTAIN: Maternity model is letting down Caithness families
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Holyrood Notebook by Edward Mountain
Anticipation is growing and tickets are being snapped up quickly for the Let’s Talk Health summit, which is now only weeks away.
The event is set to take place at Inshes Primary School in Inverness at 7pm on Friday, September 8, and will include a panel discussion and an audience Q&A session. Entry is free to the summit and tickets can be secured by visiting my website.
I launched the summit because I believe now is the time for our region to begin a wide-ranging conversation as to what it needs from its health service and how this can be delivered sustainably.
While we have seen good progress in some areas recently such as the opening of the National Treatment Centre, Highlanders continue to experience long waiting lists, an A&E crisis, insufficient rural GPs and the centralisation of too many local health services.
There’s also the ongoing difficulties associated with the downgrading of Caithness maternity provision, which has led to hundreds of mothers making the long and gruelling 100-mile journey south to Inverness to give birth.
This maternity model is failing families in the far north, which is why improving maternity provision across the health board will be a key topic at the Let’s Talk Health summit.
The panel of health care professionals will also be asked for their views on how to attract the next generation of NHS staff to work and live in our remote rural communities, how to reduce long waiting times and how a replacement for Raigmore Hospital can be delivered.
Indeed, the current Raigmore Hospital is not fit for the future – a view which the First Minister, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and NHS Highland all agree upon.
Many more across our region also agree with this assessment, as over 600 people and counting have signed my petition so far for a brand-new hospital.
I firmly believe replacing Raigmore is the key to unlocking the door to a future of enhanced health care provision across the Highlands.
It’s clear that we need an acute general teaching hospital, and this should be the number one priority for the Scottish Government when it announces its funding plans for new hospitals in 2025.
Instead of centralising more services at a single site though, we should consider introducing a hub and spoke model.
I am hopeful that such a project would rebalance our health service across the Highlands, with a brand-new hospital working in closer partnership with our local hospitals and drawing upon their strengths.
By establishing a new medical school alongside these plans too, there’s also the possibility of encouraging more medical students to the region.
If we can train our future health care professionals in the Highlands then they are more likely to stay here, therefore protecting the sustainability of our health service for years to come. That’s what I call a win-win for the Highlands.
There are some who believe my calls for a redesign of NHS Highland and a brand-new district hospital are unrealistic. However, infrastructure funding will become available in 2025 and it’s about time the Highlands received its fair share of investment instead of the central belt.
Getting the ball rolling and starting the discussion via the Let’s Talk Health summit can only help to transform ambition into reality.
Therefore, book your tickets now and I will look forward to welcoming you to the summit on September 8.
- Edward Mountain is a Conservative MSP for the Highlands and Islands.
