Health secretary criticised for failing to respond to MP's request for virtual meeting with Moray families over maternity services
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
THE Scottish health secretary is facing criticism from Moray's MP for failing to respond to an offer to meet Moray families amid concerns about the future of maternity services at Dr Gray’s Hospital.
Scottish Conservative MP for Moray Douglas Ross says Jeane Freeman found time to meet SNP MSP Richard Lochhead on Monday this week but has so far refused to attend a virtual meeting with families to hear about their experiences.
The MP has been "inundated" with people who have been forced to travel an hour or more into Aberdeen to give birth.
Keep MUM campaigners have been calling for the return of a consultant-led maternity service at Elgin's Dr Gray’s for nearly three years.
Mr Ross said: "I wrote to Jeane Freeman last month asking if she would take the time to meet virtually and hear directly from local families about their experiences.
"The health secretary has failed to respond – but did find time in her diary to meet Richard Lochhead."
He added: "My office has been inundated with experiences from new parents and mums-to-be about having to travel in and out of Aberdeen from across Moray.
"I want Jeane Freeman to listen to some of these stories and respond to the families involved before we get into the purdah period ahead of the Scottish Parliament election in May."
Other local Conservatives claim that the recent meeting between Mr Lochhead and Ms Freeman will not have provided locals with much confidence that the Elgin maternity service will be restored to full strength any time soon.
Councillor Tim Eagle, the Scottish Conservative candidate for Moray at May’s Scottish Parliament elections, said: "There is widespread upset locally that this meeting, staged less than two months before the election, will result in any material change at Dr Gray’s.
"The new plan needs to be thought about again and NHS Grampian and the Scottish Government must make this a priority in the recovery plan."
Highlands and Islands Scottish Conservative MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston added: "We have all lost count of the number of times Richard Lochhead has had ‘positive and constructive’ talks with Jeane Freeman about Dr Gray’s."
However, Mr Lochhead accused local Conservatives of playing politics over maternity services.
He said: "The NHS claim their plans have been held up by Covid, but it’s vital that we now get a credible plan and timetable in place for the restoration of the full service.
"The Tories see this issue as just another political point-scoring exercise because there is an election approaching.
"Once we have the letter from the health secretary that she has promised to send me in the coming days, if Keep MUM wish to request a meeting with the health secretary, I am sure that will be considered."
Yesterday, Kirsty Watson, Keep MUM spokesperson, said the campaigners were encouraged by news that Mr Lochhead and Ms Freeman held a positive meeting and they looked forward to the health secretary’s intervention.
She added: "We appeal to Jeane Freeman to provide genuinely independent representation to guide NHS Grampian in achieving what she has already told them to do."
