NHS Highland could seek almost £9 million from Scottish Government to create new and upgraded maternity and neonatal care infrastructure so expectant mums from Moray can choose to use Raigmore Hospital in Inverness rather than Elgin's Dr Gray's Hospital or NHS Grampian facilities in Aberdeen
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NHS Highland will today seek to agree a bid for almost £9 million from the Scottish Government to enable more women from Moray to give birth in Inverness.
The plan, if approved, would require investment of around £5 million in new and improved maternity and neonatal care infrastructure at the city’s Raigmore Hospital.
It would also entail “significant” spending – estimated at around £3.8 million – on the equivalent of an estimated 56 extra doctors, consultants, nurses, midwives and other specialist staff.
A business case report before the health board stated that the investment was “not currently possible” within existing NHS Highland budgets, although some of the extra staffing costs could be met in sharing agreements with NHS Grampian.
The report stated that 45 Moray women had so far opted to use Raigmore Hospital to give birth, but costs outlined related to a significant projected increase.
The health authority will consider a report by Lorraine Cowie, NHS Highland’s head of strategy and transformation, which offers assurances on the business case for Holyrood funding.
Services at Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin were controversially downgraded in 2018 due to staff shortages, forcing most expectant mothers to travel to Aberdeen.
In March last year, Jeane Freeman, then-Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport, announced that consultant-led maternity services would return to Moray, but with new sharing and co-operation between NHS Grampian and NHS Highland.
Government findings published in December last year indicated that more specialist staff would be needed in Inverness.
The report now before NHS Highland members stresses: “Our priority is to establish clinically safe and sustainable maternity and neonatal pathways for women in the NHS Highland areas and, through this, be able to offer the choice to the women of Moray to deliver in Raigmore.”
Moves to boost the workforce at Raigmore would require “a robust and reliable pipeline” of specialist maternity and neonatal staff.
Refurbishment of existing maternity and neonatal units would provide high-quality infrastructure in line with current national guidelines, with some “minimal” disruption to other hospital departments and services predicted while work was carried out.
NHS Highland would also seek to ensure there was “increased stability and additional capacity by way of midwifery-led care” to support women and their families.
The estimated £5 million in Government funding would be for capital costs only at Raigmore, with further future health board investment needed for another maternity or community midwifery unit.
The report states: “A strategic needs assessment will define the design, location and capacity requirements, following which additional financial requirements will be concluded.”
Board members will be asked to note the projected additional workforce required to establish clinically safe sustainable services.
Another document to be considered by members, detailing the business case for Government funding, sets out the need for the recruitment of extra specialist staff.
It said current staffing within maternity and neonatal services “currently lacks the necessary robustness” to safely cope with additional caseload from Moray women.
In all, there would be a need for just over 56 extra “whole time equivalent” staff including specialists, doctors, junior doctors and nurses across a host of specialities such as midwifery, paediatrics, and obstetrics and gynaecology.
Some £845,000 of this investment has already been previously bid for by NHS Highland.
The report also details the need to enhance recruitment and staff retention by improving the workforce culture.
