This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Maternity services in Argyll & Clyde
20/10/2003
The broad approach proposed by NHS Argyll and Clyde for maternity services in its area was
approved today by Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm.
However, the Minister said that significant further work needed to be carried out to ensure that those mothers choosing to give birth in Glasgow can continue to do so.
The plans will see a consultant-led Maternity Unit at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, new midwife-led Community Maternity Units in Greenock and Vale of Leven, and the further development of midwife-led services in Dunoon, Rothesay, Lochgilphead and Oban.
The Minister said:
"I have considered all the information supplied by NHS Argyll and Clyde, the correspondence and reports submitted by local representatives and I have met with a number of individuals and groups.
"I had to be satisfied that the proposals fit with our Maternity Services Framework and the recommendations of the Expert Group on Acute Maternity Services (EGAMS) which outline the provision of modern maternity services in Scotland.
"I have concluded that the model of service suggested by NHS Argyll and Clyde is the best available option for providing high quality safe and sustainable services for women and babies across Argyll and Clyde.
"It will mean midwife-led unit in local areas for low risk births, backed up by consultant-led clinics, and a specialist consultant-led unit for high risk births.
"In coming to a decision I have considered carefully the options for women living north of the river and the current arrangements with Glasgow.=20
"However, I have not been convinced by the planning assumptions about the number of women who will choose to have their babies in Paisley rather than Glasgow.=20
"I have therefore asked NHS Greater Glasgow and NHS Argyll and Clyde to provide me with a more detailed report on the pattern of patient choice between the two services. This will determine the size of the consultant-led units in Glasgow and Paisley and which consultants will provide support to local midwife-led services.
"I have asked for this work to be taken forward alongside the Glasgow review of maternity services and have requested a report on the patient flow numbers by April 2004. I wish to stress that women who choose to have their babies in Glasgow will continue to have that choice.
"I am aware of the concerns expressed over appropriate ambulance support and have received assurances from both the Board and the Scottish Ambulance Service that arrangements will be in place for both short term cover and for the longer term development of services."
Commenting on the EGAMS report and the provision of maternity services across Scotland, Mr Chisholm said:
"This report is about allowing women to take informed choices wherever possible, whilst ensuring safety and welfare of both mother and baby. The Expert Group has set out an approach to risk management which ensures that women who may have complications are provided with the right kind of specialist care at the right time and by the right people.
"It is about ensuring that we use all the skills and facilities available to provide a quality maternity service across Scotland for all mothers and babies. I also believe that it will allow midwives to realise their full potential and make full use of their skills."
The EGAMS report was published on 18 December 2002. It recommended that
maternity services should consist of:
* Care as close to the women's home as is clinically safe and practical;
* One to one midwifery care to be the norm for all women during labour and childbirth;
* Community Maternity Units staffed by skilled midwives, enabling women with low risk pregnancies to give birth locally; and
* A robust risk assessment procedure to ensure that women with pregnancies which may prove to have complications are provided with timely, appropriate, specialist high-tech care.
More than two thirds of all births in Scotland are currently
assisted by midwives.