Jamie Stone, MP, posted this on his Facebook page today. No need to add anything……
“NHS Scotland has abandoned the women of the Far North.
When the roads close up here (which they often do during winter), women are left with *no access* to maternity or specialised health services, unless there happens to be an air ambulance available.
NHS Scotland has also just announced £9 million for the maternity unit at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.
That’s all well and good for those further south, but it’s a slap in the face for those in the north who have been pleading for these services to be restored locally.
For months of the year, our roads are icy and riddled with potholes at best.
A woman in Caithness who has just gone into labour or needs urgent specialised surgery must face a 100+ mile (a 2.5 hour drive) treacherous journey.
And that’s if the roads are even open!
Maternity services were restored (and rightly so!) at Dr Grays in Elgin following an impact assessment that deemed it unsafe for women to have to travel 38 miles to the nearest maternity unit.
I’ll say it again – women in Caithness are travelling over 100 miles! In labour!
No impact assessment has been carried out.
No person in their right mind could look at this situation and deem it safe.
It is a clear breach of human rights for the women of the Far North who have been forsaken by NHS Scotland and the Scottish Government.“
Caithness Health Action Team 