Today CHAT wrote to the First Minister. We need island status.
Dear First Minister,
Storm Babet is currently raging, and our main arterial road to Raigmore has been blocked on numerous occasions because of the weather and accidents. These road blocks are very regular and we are often landlocked, like an island. Only last month our main road was blocked for several hours due to a very serious accident. Winter conditions are on the horizon with the possibilities that snow gates are closed. Air ambulance assistance is often not available to labouring women or to other patients due to fog or weather conditions. There are many areas of this route that have no phone signals, so a call for help cannot be made . NHS Highland announce weather warnings to patients having to travel; but nothing about the risks for anxious, labouring mums.
This dangerous journey is most often undertaken in a private car with a partner or family friend driving or on unreliable public transport for over four hours. Can you imagine the fear and terror that heavily pregnant mums experience having to face this journey while in labour? These poor mums have no choice due to this centralised maternity model which dictates that the majority of our mums have to travel to Raigmore over 100 miles away ,on this very dangerous arterial road.
Yet again, our Caithness communities hold their breadth in extreme anxiety, worried about our people who have no choice but to endure the risks of travel to Raigmore in order to attend the very many now centralised appointments; vulnerable pregnant mums journeying to Raigmore to give birth, or new born babies travelling home to Caithness and having to be released from car seats every hour due to the risks of restricted breathing.
This all adds up to a formula for tragedy under the watch of a Scottish government who have promised a Best Start for all mothers, children and families no matter where they live in Scotland. Mr Yousaf at a recent meeting with us, you stated that the 20 minute drive home with your wife and new born baby was too long, can you imagine the 3 +hour journey, in the dark, in a storm?
A maternity model that is similar to the Orkney maternity model, would allow the majority of our mothers to be able to give birth in Caithness, with only a minority having to endure the journey to Raigmore .
Yours Sincerely,
Caithness Health Action Team
Caithness Health Action Team 