£6.6m pledged by Scottish Government to boost moves to integrate maternity services in Inverness and Moray
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Plans to enable more women from Moray to give birth in Inverness have taken a step forward with the announcement of £6.6 million in Scottish Government funding.
The investment will support a return to consultant-led care at Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin, but will also see a refurbishment of facilities at the city's Raigmore Hospital.
It boosts moves to create an integrated maternity service for the north of Scotland, developed jointly by NHS Grampian and NHS Highland.
A phased return to obstetric maternity services at Dr Gray's will begin later this year with enhanced complex obstetric antenatal care and day assessment.
Elective caesarean births will restart in early 2025 with full consultant-led services returning in 2026.
A networked model of care with Raigmore Hospital in Inverness will see Moray women offered a choice of place of birth from early 2025, once refurbishment work has concluded. Refurbishment of the Raigmore maternity unit will be supported with a further £5 million of earmarked funding.
Reacting to the announcement today by Humza Yousaf, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, NHS Highland’s chief executive Pam Dudek said: “NHS Highland will continue to work alongside NHS Grampian and other partners to support women to give birth with a focus on choice and involvement in planning their care with us.
“In order to do so safely, we need to upgrade facilities at Raigmore and significantly increase our workforce, while also considering options for midwife-led care in Inverness-shire allowing choice locally and most importantly developing agreed pathways of care among our clinicians.
“This work is underway.”
Professor Caroline Hiscox, chief executive of NHS Grampian, said: “We welcome the Cabinet Secretary’s approval for our plans to develop Moray maternity services.
“This is a significant and welcome step, which I know will be warmly welcomed by families, midwives and clinicians across Moray.
“We have worked tirelessly to develop robust models that can deliver a safe and sustainable maternity service for Moray.
“I would like to thank all those who have contributed to the development of the plans and look forward to seeing their delivery.
“Today’s announcement of £6.6m funding will enable us to start the recruitment process as soon as possible to provide the necessary expertise required at Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin.
“We look forward to working in partnership with NHS Highland on the planned networked model, which will help deliver services across the region.”
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “NHS Grampian and Highland’s ambitious plan will deliver what local people have asked for – a return to obstetric maternity services at Dr Gray's in a safe and sustainable way.
“I thank both health boards and their clinical teams for the collaborative and innovative work that has gone into the development of this plan.
“I am grateful to Professor Linda De Caestecker, who was appointed to provide external assurance, for her advice and support which has been crucial in getting us to this point.
“Delivering the plan will not be without its challenges, and the collaborative approach NHS Grampian and Highland have in place will provide a solid platform for shared delivery.
“Professor De Caestecker has agreed to continue to provide external assurance in the first year of the delivery period and I very much welcome this.”
In 2018, amid staff shortages, NHS Grampian changed Dr Gray's maternity services from an obstetric consultant-led service to a midwife-led service.
Work has been underway since that date to restore consultant-led maternity services at the hospital.
Following extensive local engagement, NHS Highland and NHS Grampian submitted a plan for an integrated maternity service for the north, with consultant-led obstetric services at Dr Gray’s, to the Cabinet Secretary in December 2022.
