Highland health chiefs have admitted they may have to rely on the Coastguard helicopter to take pregnant women from Caithness to Inverness when bad weather hits.
The contingency plan emerged after north MSP Edward Mountain claimed the closure of the A9 road on Thursday due to wintry conditions should be a “wake-up call” to the NHS in the Caithness maternity row.
It emerged this week that only 20% of expectant mums were able to give birth at Caithness General Hospital last year because of restrictions introduced following the “potentially avoidable” death of a baby girl in Wick in 2015.
The figure represented a huge drop from previous years, when about two-thirds of mothers from the county had their babies delivered locally.
With more and more mums having to make the 100-mile journey to Raigmore Hospital, a series of alarming problems have emerged in recent months, including ambulances which were not properly equipped, and parents having to make repeated trips up and down the A9.
The bad weather this week, including the temporary closure of the A9 Dunbeath snow gates, prompted Highlands and Islands MSP Edward Mountain to raise concerns.
The Conservative said: “The snow gates were closed yesterday and we know how quickly things can go badly wrong in these cases.
“There would be no air ambulance availability. There’s no way to get them down effectively to Raigmore if the snow gates are closed.
“I think it’s completely unacceptable. Last night was a wake-up call for NHS Highland to think about their plans for mothers when the bad weather hits.”
Responding to the remarks, an NHS Highland spokesman said last night that the Coastguard helicopter could be used in such circumstances.
He said: “The coastguard helicopter can be called in cases of emergency when road and air ambulance are unable to travel due to severe weather or when the road is blocked.
“In cases when we have had to use these contingency plans, there have been positive outcomes for both mother and baby.
“In very bad conditions, we would set up local emergency liaison groups established in which case if any cases were deemed a medical emergency, any appropriate asset would be deployed to assist such as snow ploughs, gritters, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, 4X4 assets, and Red Cross with each case being carefully and individually managed.”
