‘Women deserve better:’ Minister to visit Caithness over maternity service
Scotland’s minister for women’s health has agreed to visit Caithness after being told that an upgraded maternity service in the county “must be a priority”.
Jenni Minto promised to make the journey after a meeting with Liberal Democrat trio Jamie Stone, David Green and Councillor Jan McEwan.
The consultant-led maternity unit at Caithness General Hospital was downgraded in 2016 to a midwife-led facility and the vast majority of far north mums have to go to Inverness to have their babies. Only 15 women gave birth at the community midwife-led unit in Wick in 2024.
At the end of last year, a report by the Scottish Human Rights Commission found that mums in Caithness and Sutherland felt “unsafe” and “terrified” about travelling to Inverness to give birth.
Caithness Health Action Team (CHAT) has told a United Nations committee in Geneva that mums-to-be from the far north are being denied their rights through “a policy of centralisation, retrogression and reduction of services”.
Ms Minto empathised with mothers in Caithness and compared the area’s maternity provision with that in her own constituency of Argyll and Bute. She said she had been assured by NHS Highland that conditions had improved in the past 18 months.
Mr Stone, the MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, said: “It was a constructive meeting, and I think all of us who participated were pleased that the minister was listening.
“I stressed the risk element of mothers having to travel so far to give birth in Inverness – a risk that becomes all the greater in winter when the A9 can block and take hours to clear, and could be compounded in the nightmare scenario when all the air ambulances have been called away to other parts for emergency reasons.
“To illustrate the risk element, I reminded the minister of the mother of twins who gave birth to the first twin in Golspie on the way south and the second in Inverness.
“That was a horrific incident which we never want to see happen again.”
David Green, the Lib Dems’ Holyrood candidate for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, said: “Knowing that some families are choosing not to have more children, or moving out of the area altogether, to avoid travelling such distances for giving birth is deeply troubling.
“All credit to Caithness Health Action Team for taking this case to the UN in Geneva, which could prove to be a real turning point in this campaign. I am pleased the minister agreed to look at the recommendations and respond accordingly.
“Restoring maternity services in Caithness must be a priority. I have no doubt local folk will share that message loud and clear with the minister when she visits in due course.”
Councillor Jan McEwan, who represents the Wick and East Caithness ward on Highland Council, said: “Women of all ages deserve better healthcare in the north, whether it be maternity or other gynaecology issues.
“If we want to get to grips with the depopulation and ensure the far north is a place people can thrive, we require better all-round healthcare.”
CHAT vice-chairman Iain Gregory said: “We are very pleased to hear that the minister has undertaken to visit Caithness to listen to the very justified concerns of mums-to-be, and to see for herself just how serious the situation is here in the county.
“Is it acceptable that in 2024 no fewer than 215 women were obliged to undergo the stressful and dangerous journey from Caithness to Inverness, at all times of the day and night, in all weather conditions, in pain and distress, because the authorities have pursued a policy of centralisation, retrogression and reduction of local services?
“Is it acceptable that thousands of people who require to attend clinics are obliged to undergo the same journey, when many of these facilities used to be available in the county? We maintain that this cannot be so and the situation must be corrected, and quickly.
“We look forward to studying the United Nations report shortly, and to meeting with Jenni Minto as soon as possible.”
A total of 215 women from Caithness gave birth at Raigmore during 2024, with fewer than five giving birth elsewhere. There were no home births in the region during that time.
CHAT has been campaigning for the so-called “Orkney model” – a midwife-led unit, backed by consultants – to be adopted in Caithness.
