Caithness health campaigners warn of 'tragedy waiting to happen' after storms block parts of A9
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Campaigners have warned that asking expectant mothers to travel from Caithness to Inverness in severe weather is "a tragedy waiting to happen".
Caithness Health Action Team (CHAT) spoke out after Storm Malik and Storm Corrie brought gale-force winds to the north of Scotland, causing fallen trees to block parts of the A9.
CHAT's concerns were backed by local Highland councillor Matthew Reiss, who said the journey of more than 100 miles to Raigmore should have been taken into account before the decision to downgrade the maternity unit at Caithness General Hospital from consultant-led to midwife-led.
During the height of the stormy conditions on Sunday evening there were reports of fallen trees on the A9 at the Mound and Skiach, with regular updates from Police Scotland and Traffic Scotland reporting road closures in the Highlands.
CHAT chairman Ron Gunn said: "Every year over 6000 Caithness patients travel down to Raigmore. This spell of weather has highlighted what we have been saying since 2016 – it is just not safe to expect mums-to-be to have to travel down the A9 to give birth.
"During 2021 there were 10 births in the Wick hospital, 170 north mums had to travel to Inverness to give birth and five others had to travel further south – so 95 per cent of north mums had to go out of the county to give birth.
"We know many newborn babies had to go back down to Raigmore for neonatal health checks but NHS Highland could not give us the actual figure.
"I saw a post on social media on Monday from a driver who had to get to Inverness but the road was closed by fallen trees. He said that he was going to wait until the road was clear, even if that meant staying in the car overnight.
"What if that had been an expectant mother? This situation is a tragedy waiting to happen.
"We and others have repeatedly asked for a risk assessment to be done on the journey expectant mothers are forced to make, sometimes in labour, but we are still waiting."
Speaking for Caithness Roads Recovery, Iain Gregory said: "We are working closely with other groups seeking improvements to local services in Caithness, and recent events highlight just how vulnerable we are here in the far north.
"A severe blizzard or other emergency can strike at any time, and the possible consequences of being trapped in a vehicle, or being unable to reach Raigmore, are only too clear.
"The crews from Bear Scotland [the trunk road maintenance company] and Highland Council did a superb job as always, but they cannot do the impossible – a real blizzard or other emergency means that Caithness is effectively an island, and we must have all the facilities we need right here in the county"
Councillor Reiss (Thurso and Northwest Caithness), a former area police commander for Caithness, Sutherland and East Ross, said: “I am worried by the apparent complacency about winter safety. We have had a run of mild winters, apart from a cold snap late in last year’s winter. This risk to the public has not gone away – it has merely hidden itself away from officialdom and government.
"The snow gates are there for a reason and that is to close the road when police judge it has become, or is about to become, too dangerous to use by the public.
"I am not sure how many Caithness folk on average every day make the trip to Raigmore but I am sure the downgrading of our maternity unit was based on what was called 'clinical safety'.
"The decision should also have taken into account the matter of the 110-mile-plus journey from the Thurso area. This worry is not going to go away because Transport Scotland tells me there are no significant changes planned for the A9 and A99 north of Tain for the next 20 years – a sobering fact.”
A spokesperson for NHS Highland said: "Maternity services in Caithness were changed from consultant-led to midwife-led in 2016, on the grounds of safety.
"Pregnant women who require transfer are clinically assessed by midwives and professional-to-professional discussion will then take place with consultants and the Scottish Ambulance Service to plan the most appropriate method of transfer. Consideration is given to clinical picture, weather, level of response required and ambulance co-ordination."
Calls have been made for Scottish Government ministers to visit the county to experience for themselves the difficulties faced by people from Caithness who are expected to travel to the Highland capital for healthcare services.
As well as roads being affected by the storms, railway services were suspended while the Inverness to Wick/Thurso line was cleared of debris and trees. Winds reached severe gale force 9 in Wick on Saturday, with a peak gust of 74.8mph.
