Rhoda Grant: Mothers in Moray and Caithness are asking for the same thing – local services
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Holyrood Notebook by Rhoda Grant
For many years I have supported Caithness Health Action Team (CHAT) and Caithness women who want gynaecological and maternity services close to home.
I have written countless letters to the health secretaries of the day, met campaigners and joined demonstrations in the far north. It is an uphill battle which I am determined to keep fighting.
On Thursday last week, MSP Douglas Ross joined the campaign and raised at First Minister’s Questions that hundreds of women still travel long distances to give birth and get treatment, including those from Caithness.
Stories from mothers were then read out to fellow MSPs – cases that echo with me and similar situations reported to me.
The independent review of maternity services at Dr Gray’s hospital in Elgin gave hope that the Health Secretary, Humza Yousaf, would feel that the Caithness campaign also merited a review and a direct discussion between him and the people of the area.
However, the latest from the Scottish Government is that it is “not possible to draw parallels from the findings of Ralph Roberts' review of maternity services in Dr Gray’s hospital in Elgin for maternity services in Caithness”.
The Scottish Government pointed out that maternity services were part of the network of services within a hospital, and these differ across District General Hospitals.
I cannot see the logic of this argument at all. The community in Moray and the community in Caithness are arguing for the same thing – services in their local hospital to cut down travelling long distances to give birth.
I’ve asked Mr Yousaf to consider an independent review for Caithness and requested he talks to CHAT and the community about their concerns.
Clinicians at Raigmore Hospital have made their views clear. They cannot take on more maternity cases from Moray as they are already under strain and under resourced with the level of work they are currently doing.
I really don’t think that central belt politicians have grasped the situation in rural areas of Scotland.
It is time to look at putting more services in hospitals closer to home and let local voices be heard in the corridors of power.
Heating and electricity costs
I was listening to a BBC Radio 4 programme about the cost of consumers’ heating and electricity charges.
Listeners phoned in and explained how much their bills were predicted to rise. It was truly worrying with some quoting thousands of pounds more a year for a small sized flat.
Labour would help every household in Scotland with their bills. Its policy to keep energy bills low would benefit all 2.5 million households in Scotland – including all off-grid households as equally as others. It would pay for this with a one-off windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas producers which have profited from price rises.
On the issue of energy costs, there’s a £3 million scheme, administered by Advice Direct Scotland, designed to prevent households falling into fuel poverty and help those ‘rationing’ their energy use.
The fund is open until March 31 and applications can only be made on behalf of individuals by referrals from local authorities, housing associations, charities and organisations which provide energy or debt advice, via homeheatingadvice.scot
While individuals cannot apply, they should contact Advice Direct Scotland for free on 0808 800 9060 or visit www.advice.scot, and advisers can assess eligibility. It can also offer free advice on energy and debt issues.
- Rhoda Grant is a Labour MSP for the Highlands and Islands.
