Experiences of women and Health Secretary Humza Yousaf's non-response to Raigmore letter dominate First Minister's Questions
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The future of maternity care at Dr Gray's Hospital in Elgin was at the centre of First Minister's Questions today.
Douglas Ross, Moray MP and Highlands and Islands MSP, shared the experiences of women affected by long journeys to Aberdeen and beyond as the First Minister restated her commitment to consultant-led maternity care returning to Dr Gray's.
Mr Ross also slammed Health Secretary Humza Yousaf for not responding to a letter from clinicians at Inverness's Raigmore Hospital, sharing their fury over potential strain caused by diverted Moray mothers.
Mr Ross said: "The First Minister says the Health Secretary will now respond, but these clinicians wrote directly to him, they kept that private because they wanted to put across their views and get his response.
"When that didn't happen, when the Health Secretary didn't reply to these frontline experts, they went public in the local papers.
"It shouldn't have to come to the chamber, here in parliament, to get a response."
First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said: "Firstly, in terms of the letter from clinicians, I am more than willing to look into the reply and why the reply was not sent there.
"The Health Secretary has said publicly, I believe, that he is going to meet with Raigmore clinicians and it is inconceivable that decisions would be reached about this without properly engaging clinicians on the front line who of course have the responsibility to implement those decisions.
"I will give an assurance to those clinicians and indeed to the populations affected here that that will absolutely happen."
Moray women affected by the downgrading of Dr Gray's also left a solemn mark on the exchanges.
Mr Ross said: "These are the words of a mum: "I had been told that if I had a bleed before giving birth the chances were slim that I would survive and consequently neither would my baby.
"I spent months in constant fear that I would bleed, then the worst happened and I started bleeding at home.
"I was transferred initially to Dr Gray's, then to Aberdeen in a blue-light ambulance.
"The bleeding did initially stop and I was told that my baby had a heartbeat, but when the bleeding started again, on my way to Aberdeen, I was told the heartbeat had gone.
"I therefore thought my baby was dead and I was next."
The First Minister said: "Many of us, myself included, have personal experience around baby loss at different stages and therefore I absolutely understand the emotion, the sensitivity and the seriousness of these issues."
