Restoring consultant-led maternity services to Caithness a manifesto pledge by Scottish Lib Dems

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have made restoring consultant-led maternity services to Caithness General Hospital a manifesto pledge ahead of the forthcoming election.

In November, the Scottish Parliament voted in favour of a Scottish Liberal Democrat amendment that called for a specific, independent review of maternity services in Caithness.

It has since emerged, however, that there will be a government-chaired review of Caithness services, falling significantly short of the independent review that parliament agreed.

Consultant-led maternity services were first removed from Caithness General Hospital in 2016.

It means that women in Caithness can now face a 100-mile trip down the A9 to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness to give birth.

Last year, a report by the Scottish Human Rights Commission identified a range of challenges for women accessing maternity care in the Highlands and Islands.

Only 15 women gave birth at the community midwife-led unit in Wick in 2024.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

“The long journeys faced by women in Caithness are a complete scandal.

“New mothers should not have to travel over 100 miles on one of Scotland’s most dangerous roads, at the mercy of extreme weather, in order to give birth. Their human rights matter.

“At this election, Scottish Liberal Democrats are offering change with fairness at its heart. That’s why I am making it a manifesto pledge to restore consultant-led maternity services to mums in the far north.”

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

“Restoring consultant-led services in Caithness is simply the right thing to do.

"For years, families and campaigners in Caithness have been raising concerns about the downgrading of local services and the long journeys many women are forced to make to give birth.

"Those concerns cannot go unanswered. Women in Caithness deserve access to high quality, local healthcare every bit as much as women in other parts of the country. That is exactly what Scottish Liberal Democrats are championing.”

Liberal Democrat MP For Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, Jamie Stone said:

“New mothers in Caithness need solutions.

“The SNP have failed at every single turn to fix things. They have offered only broken promises and watered down reviews.

“Women in the far north deserve better, and with the Scottish Liberal Democrats you can vote for it.”

ENDS.