Plan for full-strength Dr Gray's approved
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APPROVAL of a long-laboured plan to restore the women and children’s service at Dr Gray’s Hospital will offer some relief for Moray parents and expectant mothers – but campaigners have vowed to keep up the pressure to ensure the plan is delivered.
Severe shortages of trainee and consultant doctors forced a decision last summer to operate the service in Elgin on a temporary, reduced basis.
The Scottish Government has now approved NHS Grampian's plans to upgrade maternity services to a full obstetric unit – along with proposals to restore round-the-clock care in paediatrics – meaning the health board can now work to shape a sustainable service.
The proposals were developed and voted upon by local NHS staff, members of the public and campaign group Keep MUM. Details have been made available to the public, who will get a chance to have their say, NHS Grampian said.
Sue Swift, women and children’s divisional general manager, said: "While this is an evolving plan that will need to be further refined and updated following public feedback on the paediatric model and the detailed financial analysis that will take place over the next couple of months, the approval from the Scottish Government is a significant and welcome step forward."
Keep MUM campaigners, while welcoming the plan, warned: "The next crucial milestone is if NHS Grampian decides to give financial backing to their own plan – failure to do this will cause outrage across Moray."
They added: "NHS Grampian has yet to cost and approve the plan. We understand that detailed financial analysis is currently being carried out and will be presented to NHS Grampian board in June. What happens if NHS Grampian board do not approve the plan?"
They also sought more detail on recruitment, adding: "We need more detail to give the people of Moray more confidence in NHS Grampian.
"Recruitment for the staff to allow the unit to be upgraded is apparently not starting until September 2019. Obviously, this is very concerning and we have to conclude that Moray women will face yet another winter of travelling and being transferred in labour on the dangerous A96."
NHS Grampian has started training and recruiting more than a dozen extra specialists. This includes advanced nurse practitioners, physician associates and prescribing pharmacists. If approved by NHS Grampian, the board will gradually introduce the service models as staff are recruited over the next 11 months.
A new NHS Grampian recruitment drive was also launched at Kinloss last week alongside the area's armed forces. It aims to recruit clinically trained partners of service military personnel.
Scottish Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: "I am keen to ensure that the public and all relevant stakeholders, including the Keep MUM campaign group, remain fully engaged with this process, and I know the board share that determination. The consultation period, which will begin shortly, will allow that engagement to take place and I would encourage everyone with a view to take part.
"My commitment remains that the Scottish Government will support NHS Grampian to deliver a safe and sustainable service for all pregnant women from the Moray region. While there are recruitment challenges to overcome, I am confident that NHS Grampian has a plan to address this proactively, and that they are continuing to work towards the goal of reinstating an obstetric maternity service at Dr Gray’s."
Moray SNP MSP Richard Lochhead said: "This is a positive step forward in terms of getting a full consultant-led maternity service back up and running in Elgin. However, there is no room for complacency and everyone involved in the delivery of the plan must keep the foot on the gas to ensure that they stick to the agreed timetable.
"I hope that having a long-term plan in place will give the community and the Keep MUM campaign confidence over the future of the local service.
"I will be looking closely at the proposals for paediatrics and will be discussing the plans for children’s services in Elgin with NHS Grampian when I next meet them."
Douglas Ross, Conservative MP for Moray, said: "This update brings us closer to ending the uncertainty and worry for pregnant women in Moray about whether they might have to travel to Aberdeen to give birth – but it also confirms it will still be another year before we see a full maternity service return in spring 2020.
"I’m delighted that a round-the-clock children’s ward will also re-start, allowing children who need short-term admission to be treated in Dr Gray’s rather than having to go to Aberdeen. This will be a great relief for parents in Moray because I know that many have had to face the long journey to Aberdeen during the night when the paediatric unit in Elgin was cut to daytime admissions only.
"We have waited a long time for a return to full, sustainable services for maternity and paediatrics in Elgin, and although there is still a lot of staff training to do, at least we now know that NHS Grampian is committed to ensuring that Moray has the hospital provision that local people need."
