Agreed: Delivery plan containing Dr Gray's Hospital next steps
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NEXT steps for Dr Gray's Hospital have been agreed by the NHS Grampian Board.
Meeting at UHI Moray College on Thursday (August 3), the health board backed the Delivery Plan for 2023-2026.
Agreeing the strategy moved NHS Grampian to the "year one" actions from the Moray Maternity Services Plan for Model 6 – which aims to bring back a full service by the end of 2026.
Actions included ramping up marketing to ease recruitment issues and developing better links with NHS Highland.
The meeting also heard that the process for emergency childbirth transfers to Raigmore had been agreed with NHS Highland, meeting the June 2023 deadline.
By giving the strategy the nod, the board also agreed to continue developing an MRI facility at Dr Gray's and progress major ligature removal works at the Ward 4 mental health unit.
Chairperson Alison Evison said: "It's wonderful to be back here in Elgin.
"We will continue to invest in Dr Gray's Hospital and its role as an anchor organisation in the Moray area will continue to grow.
"We have a strong history of diverse community engagement in Moray which helped us to navigate a challenging path in a positive way.
"I know that there is a bright future ahead for the people of Moray and, indeed, our staff across health and social care."
Speaking after the meeting, portfolio lead for Moray and Moray Health and Social Care Partnership chief officer Simon Boker-Ingram said: "One of the first key milestones, which was for June this year, was to have in place a safe, effective methodology for transferring intrapartum women to Raigmore.
"So women in the stages of labour and giving birth, if they need to be moved to a centre with a full obstetric centre and special care baby unit, both mum and baby can be fully supported.
"That, really, was seen as key.
"I think the work we are doing jointly with NHS Highland is proving to be very productive.
"We have hit our milestones to date and folk have done a lot of work on making sure that is in place.
"A huge amount of work going on.
"But we recognise that, by 2026, we need to have a full obstetric, consultant model in place.
"And this is not to take away from that.
"It's to make sure that what we've got here and now is safe, with a midwife-led unit at Dr Gray's."
Mr Boker-Ingram also denied that a delay to maternity unit improvements at Raigmore would impact Moray mums' ability to give birth in Inverness.
"NHS Highland have put forward a business case, which their board has agreed, and that is around the refurbishment of their maternity unit," he said.
"And also around recruitment, to ensure they can provide a sustainable service not only for Highland, but also for Moray mums who wish to give birth rate in Raigmore.
"That timescale has now shifted, so it's a longer time scale for the refurbishment.
"But, at this point, it doesn't impact our ability to reach the endpoint of 2026 and having a full obstetric model at Dr Gray's."
He added that, despite successfully meeting targets, NHS Grampian was experiencing significant workforce pressures.
As a result, new efforts are being made to recruit staff including hiring a professional filming company.
"Clearly, we are fully aware of the workforce challenges," Mr Boker-Ingram said.
"So a key piece of work for us, between now and the end of this calendar year, is around our recruitment and marketing campaign.
"And we've made a decision, as a joint program board, to invest more heavily in that at the front end to have a fully comprehensive campaign.
"That campaign for recruitment is about the north of Scotland.
"Because otherwise we're in danger of recruiting to Dr Gray's but actually depleting the workforce in Aberdeen and in Inverness.
"We will have some filming for the campaign later on this month and we are procuring that from a professional filming company."
