Ambulance chiefs have offered a further assurance that the downgrading of maternity services at Caithness General Hospital will not endanger mothers-to-be.
The head of the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) in the north reaffirmed yesterday (THURS) in discussions with Highland councillors that projections indicated fewer transfers from Wick to Raigmore in Inverness were likely in future.
There were 20 such instances in the past year, he revealed.
Amid lingering public anger over NHS Highland’s decision, Graham MacLeod of the SAS was pressed by far north councillor Roger Saxon to reassure patients.
Asked how the service could accurately forecast the scenario, Graham MacLeod said: “We’re actually anticipating that we should see probably less being transferred that are in labour because there’s been a reliance on having the obstetrician based at Caithness General, so there was that comfort for mothers going in, that if they went in later than maybe they should have that there was somebody there that could deaslwith it.
“In actual fact, when they know that service is not going to be there, the expected way that’s going to work is that they’re going to be coming down to Raigmore sooner.
“And we shouldn’t really be transferring somebody under an emergency if they’re in labour because it’s not the place that you would like to deliver a baby – you’d like it to be in a safer environment.”
Activists are contemplating legal action to halt NHS Highland’s maternity service downgrading.
The health board last week voted unanimously to convert maternity services to a community midwife unit rather than one led by consultant obstetricians.
