Health secretary urged to virtually meet Moray parents over Dr Gray’s maternity concerns
THE Scottish health secretary has been urged to virtually meet Moray parents and mothers-to-be affected by ongoing issues with maternity services at Dr Gray’s in Elgin.
Scottish Conservative MP for Moray Douglas Ross has written to the minister asking that she hear directly from those who have had to travel to Aberdeen or Inverness to give birth.
Maternity services at the Elgin hospital have been operating at midwife-led level since July 2018 due to staffing shortages.
The removal of a consultant-led service was described as temporary at the time but is still in place nearly three years later.
Mr Ross has previously called on Health Secretary Jeane Freeman to outline plans to fully return to a consultant-led service "in detail" following concerns from local campaigners Keep MUM that NHS Grampian had "no intention" of restoring the unit to full strength.
February wintry weather that closed the A96 has also been cited by campaigners as a reason for the situation to be urgently resolved.
Mr Ross said: "It is a year since Jeane Freeman travelled north to Elgin to meet with staff at Dr Gray’s and members of the Keep MUM campaign group.
"At the time, the health secretary was clear that she had listened to the concerns of campaigners and that there needed to be 'progress and steps taken' to address them.
"Of course, we all understand that the Covid pandemic has taken precedence over everything else over the past 11 months.
"However, concerns are growing locally about the future of maternity services at Dr Gray’s. My own office has dealt with numerous complaints from parents who endured long drives to Aberdeen to give birth."
Mr Ross added: "I think everybody wants to see the full restoration of a consultant-led maternity service at Dr Gray’s.
"After almost three years since the original downgrading, we seem no closer to reaching that point.
"I'm organising a virtual meeting which I have invited the health secretary to so we can ensure local voices are heard. Constituents who have contacted me want to see action and with health fully devolved to the Scottish Government, it’s up to them to sort this.
"This meeting could help to restore some confidence in people locally that this will actually happen."
Last week Moray SNP MSP Richard Lochhead claimed locals were "running out of patience" over lack of progress in restoring full-strength maternity services in Elgin.
He is seeking the health secretary’s intervention to set a timetable for the return of a consultant-led unit in Elgin.
NHS Grampian chief executive Professor Caroline Hiscox told Mr Lochhead the work was a matter of high priority as the health service moves into Covid recovery.
