Dealing With NHS Health Boards Is Like Drowning In Treacle - No Way Out For Communities

4th March 2020

For the past few years to campaigns in Caithness and Elgin have been dealing with their health boards - NHS Highland and NHS Grampian. Both groups have mounted a seemingly endless campaigns to save once excellent services - well regarded by their respective populations.

In Caithness despite changes at board level and management for other well known and publicised reasons they have stuck to previously made decisions taken without any consultation. So much for the Scottish Goverment's SNP policy of listening to communities that seems only to be when it fits with their own ambitions and ever tightening budgets.

Caithness Health Action Team (CHAT) has to begin all over again dealing with the third Chief Executive of NHS Highland. Elaine Mead presided over the ill fated changes to maternity, while her successor Iain Stewart listened but did nothing and now we have to deal with the latest chief Paul Hawkins who is merely seconded to the position. How long before we meet his successor.

The today the MUMS group fighting to their case on maternity in Elgin have had a huge brush off from NHS Grampian as their latest posting on their Facebook page attest.

These problems can only be dealt with by the Scottish Government as two health boards seem incapable of listening to communities.

Here is what the Keep MUM have said with link to their page at the end.

Meeting with NHS Grampian 3rd March 2020

Today we met with Amanda Croft, Chief Executive of NHS Grampian, Nick Fluck, Medical Director and Caroline Hiscox, Nurse Director. The meeting was hugely disappointing.

NHSG confirmed the following:

• No progress of the plan approved by the Scottish Government nine months ago.

• No commitment to a timescale

• No obstetric jobs advertised since the downgrade

• No intention of reinstating a consultant led service

• No to holding a public meeting in Elgin to explain what's happening

• No to taking on board our view that the recent Safety Review was biased

Our Position

• We can NOT support any arrangement which involves the majority of Moray women travelling to Inverness and/or Aberdeen.

• We will never accept that a midwifery led unit on its own is suitable for Moray women

• Women must have an obstetric service in Elgin.

• NHSG is not taking the experiences of Moray women seriously within the context of a rural and remote area.

Dave Snowden

We briefly discussed the approach of Dave Snowden who deals with complex situations and visited Elgin last week. Keep Mum enjoyed meeting with Dave Snowden last week. We look forward to helping women share their stories through him. However, we stressed in the meeting today, that this does not change the fact that we wish the majority of Moray women to give birth in Dr Gray's hospital, as has been the case since 1995.

NHSG WERE UNABLE TO CONFIRM THAT THEY SHARE THIS AIM.

Change of Leadership

We asked NHS Grampian if they felt a different leadership team would have achieved a better outcome. They said that others would have to judge that.

We think the people of Moray have already made that judgement.

Please show your support, comment if you'd like to and share.

This campaign continues and we will be asking for your help over the next week or so.

(NHS Grampian will email us written answers to the questions which we posted on here a few days ago.)

https://www.facebook.com/MaternityUnitMoray/

While we are at it - what are Community Prtnerships for if they can't fix thing like this. Browse their web sites - NHS is involved. Do you see any answers in all the meetings/minutes

https://www.highlandcpp.org.uk/

https://www.ouraberdeenshire.org.uk/