SPECIAL REPORT | WATCH: Caithness mums in tears over Wick maternity downgrade
100 mile A9 ambulance journeys for birth complications
Caithness mums have gone home in tears after their protest failed to stop Wick's maternity services being downgraded.
They gathered outside NHS Highland's HQ this morning, before board members approved plans to allow midwives to run the unit at Caithness General.
The shake-up means midwives will only handle so-called straight-forward births, but rely on specialists in Inverness to treat complications - but first the patients must be driven to Raigmore Hospital by ambulance.
That's a journey of over 100-miles and can take over 2.5-hours along Scotland's most dangerous road, the A9.
The restructure comes after recommendations from a report which was written after a safety review of Caithness General Hospital, following the potentially avoidable death of a newborn baby in September last year.
In fact this tragedy is not even half of the controversy that's rocked the far North community.
A total of five newborn babies have died over the last five-years, eventually prompting action by the health board's bosses.
At today's meeting NHS Highland’s head of midwifery Dr Helen Byers said: "The early transfer of the mother could have averted this case," adding that a midwife-led unit would be able to identify problems in pregnancies at an early stage, allowing preparations to be made to provide care to mothers and their babies in the most appropriate setting.
Currently, the maternity unit at the CGH is led by consultant obstetricians (two permanent staff plus one locum) based at the hospital, but there are no facilities for on-site specialist neonatal paediatric support or adult intensive care. Now the board has agreed the change to a midwife-led Community Maternity Unit.
SO WHAT ARE THE CHANGES AND WHEN WILL THEY HAPPEN? ACCORDING TO NHS HIGHLAND...
- "By 1st December 2016, the designation of Caithness Maternity Unit changes to a CMU and 24/7 obstetric cover by consultant obstetrician to cease. Daytime weekday consultant obstetric cover will continue for a four-month transition period in a mainly advisory and educational capacity - Between 1st December 2016 to 31st March 2017, additional educational input is to be provided for local midwives and other local healthcare practitioners. Obstetricians are only to provide advice and education. The outreach model for visiting obstetrics and gynaecology service from Inverness developed and enhanced facilities for women and families to be provided in Inverness - By 1st April 2017; the transition period completed. Consultant obstetric staff moved to Raigmore Hospital Inverness. The Caithness Maternity Unit functions as a full CMU. The outreach model for visiting obstetrics and gynaecology service implemented".
Sonya Davenport (pictured with her daughter below), who's 29 and from Wick, told our reporter Bryan Rutherford: "My complications were treated at Caithness General, and I believe that mine and my daughter Olivia's lives were both saved by having baby doctors based in Wick.
"The doctor actually told me that if we went by road ambulance, I would have been dead by the time I hit Brora, and that certainly isn't close enough to Inverness".
NHS Highland’s medical director Dr Rod Harvey told MFR News: "The key message from the safety review report was that there was evidence that we had some serious near misses at Caithness General, and that the status quo was intrinsically unsafe.
"Sooner or later something could go wrong and indeed has".
"Had the unit operated as a midwife-led community maternity unit, then the latest potentially avoidable death, in all likelihood, would not have occurred".