Caithness maternity campaigners accuse SNP of watering down review

Caithness maternity campaigners are accusing the Scottish Government of pulling back from a commitment made in the Scottish Parliament to commission an independent review of maternity services in Caithness.

At a vote at Holyrood on 5 November, then welcomed as an important victory for mums to be in Caithness, the Scottish Government backed a Scottish Liberal Democrat amendment which specifically called for an “independent review of maternity services in Caithness”.

However, emerging details have now given rise to serious concerns about the Scottish Government’s intent to live up to that commitment.

In a letter to local Liberal Democrat David Green on November 26, NHS Highland’s Chief Executive Fiona Davies explains there will be a Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, instead chaired by an SNP Government Minister.

The NHS Highland boss said: “The taskforce will review rural service provision, and that will include maternity services in Caithness and Stranraer.” For campaigners, this falls far short of what the Scottish Parliament voted for.

Longtime maternity services campaigner and Far North MP, Jamie Stone, has penned a letter alongside the Chair of Caithness Health Action Team, Cllr Ron Gunn, and David Green to raise concerns with the Health Secretary and asked for a clear timetable.

They are calling for:

• A published schedule on key milestones for the review.
• An exact date for delivery of the final report and next steps.
• Regular progress throughout the review.

The campaigners also expect the review of maternity services in Caithness to be fully independent, including a chairperson outside of NHS Highland’s leadership team and beyond the Scottish Government’s oversight.

Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross MP Jamie Stone said:

“An independent review should represent a crucial opportunity to rebuild trust and deliver fair, accessible maternity services for Caithness. We need a process that is transparent, efficient and shaped by the voices of local people.

“That is why we have explicitly asked for assurance that the review will be led by an independent chair entirely separate from NHS Highland and the Scottish Government, with full autonomy over its scope and findings.

“My hope is that this review brings real change and is not just a shallow attempt from the SNP to virtue signal ahead of the Scottish election next year.” 

Councillor Ron Gunn, Chair of Caithness Health Action Team, said:

“We really thought we were getting somewhere when the Scottish Parliament voted for an independent review of maternity services in Caithness. It now appears it won’t be independent but part of a Maternity & Neonatal Taskforce review, chaired by Scottish Minister Ms Minto.

“This is yet another slap in the face for the Caithness mums and families who, for years, have supported our campaign for an independent review. We, perhaps naively, thought they had listened. It would seem the Scottish Government has changed their minds, although we have to wonder if they ever actually intended to set up a truly independent review.

“I think we know what they have to fear from a truly independent review but the people of the North deserve honesty and transparency.”

David Green, Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, added:

“For the women who have bravely spoken up about their experiences of travelling to Inverness to give birth, the SNP’s backtracking will be a real blow. Their human rights matter.

“Let’s be clear; this is a question of respecting the will of Parliament and keeping your promises. Holyrood has voted for an independent review of maternity services in Caithness, that is what we should now expect. No ifs, no buts.

“Mums-to-be, campaigners, and the community as a whole deserves better than this. To have any chance of rebuilding trust, the review must be genuinely independent and must meaningfully engage the community."

ENDS.

Notes to editors:

Last year, a report by the Scottish Human Rights Commission’s (SHRC) into ‘Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the Highlands and Islands’, revealed that the right to health in the Far North of Scotland was seriously inadequate with regards to accessibility and availability. Only 15 women gave birth at the community midwife-led unit in Wick in 2024.

The Scottish Liberal Democrat amendment S6M-19512.1 supported by the Scottish Parliament reads:

“notes that, following the downgrading of the consultant-led maternity unit at Caithness General Hospital in 2016, women in Caithness can face a 100 mile trip down the A9 to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness to give birth, and calls on the Scottish Government to commission an independent review of maternity services in Caithness.”

In a letter to David Green, dated 26 November, NHS Highland Chief Executive Fiona Davies stated:

“Since your correspondence you will be aware that it has been announced that there will be a Maternity & Neonatal Taskforce established. This will be chaired by Ms Minto. It will provide strategic, national leadership and will include senior figures from across our health system and independent bodies, as well as third sector and advocacy organisations. The taskforce will review rural service provision, and that will include maternity services in Caithness and Stranraer.”

In a column for The Caithness Courier, dated 20 November, Caithness, Sutherland and Ross SNP MSP Maree Todd said:

“I was proud to support, alongside my party, the Liberal Democrats’ amendment calling for a taskforce review of maternity services in Caithness during this month’s debate on maternity services.

“Earlier this summer, I joined the Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health, Jenni Minto, at Caithness General Hospital to hear directly from mothers, campaigners, and midwives.

“By backing this amendment, the Scottish Government has shown that it has listened to the experiences shared – many of them deeply harrowing – as well as the concerns raised by myself and colleagues, and is taking action.

“I now look forward to the taskforce’s findings and recommendations, which I hope will help guide further improvements to maternity services in the far north.”

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Neil Gray MSP, stated to the chamber during the maternity services debate on 5 November:

“I expect the task force to look at rural maternity services as one of its first areas of focus…”

A Scottish Government spokesperson told The Press and Journal on 10 December:

“The Scottish Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce will look at the scope of a national review based on the emerging themes and outcomes of the Healthcare Improvement Scotland Inspections of Maternity Units across Scotland, and any other area that the Taskforce might identify. It will also look at the provision of maternity services in rural areas, including in Caithness and Stranraer.

“A full workplan will be agreed by the Taskforce once it has been established, and Parliament will be updated in due course.”