Maternity bed axe pledge for county

CAITHNESS mums-to-be will not be affected by changes being tested at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.

The assurance was given this week by an NHS Highland spokeswoman who stressed that the trial closure of six maternity beds at Raigmore will not impact on mothers in the Far North.

The beds in ward nine have been closed in a bid to assess what the maternity unit’s requirements are, but they can be used if required.

“The closure of the six beds in Raigmore maternity, which is still in its trial period, will have no impact,” she said.

“The bed use in the maternity unit at Raigmore has been looked at and it is believed those beds are not used.

“The same number of patients will still be using the unit.

“Plans for Raigmore are currently being developed with clinical colleagues and staff representatives.

“Nothing will be implemented on a permanent basis until we are confident that this is possible and patient care is not put at risk.”

The trial period started at the Inverness hospital on Monday, May 30, and will last for about a month. After that the situation will be assessed.

“We have looked at the bed usage and do not believe those six beds are needed,” she explained.

“The same number of women still come to Raigmore to give birth and these numbers were taken into account when the trial was agreed. We have the ability to reopen the beds if the need is there.”

She added that since the trial got under way there have been three occasions when beds had to be reopened.

On Tuesday, May 31, two of the beds were used overnight while the following day three beds were reopened for a period of four hours.

On Friday, June 3, four of the six beds were back in use for a period of eight hours.

There were four days when none of the beds, which have been closed, had to be reopened, she added.

Meanwhile, a proposal to send women home six hours after birth if there are no complications will also be trialled shortly.

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