Maternity concerns raised by safety commissioner

IMMEDIATE action is being demanded to escalate NHS Dumfries and Galloway into further special measures amid concerns about maternity services and patient safety in Wigtownshire.

Calls for swift action were heard in the Scottish Parliament last Wednesday after fears flagged by Scotland’s new patient safety commissioner, Karen Titchener.

She used an appearance before a Holyrood committee to raise issues regarding maternity risk-mitigation, governance of the Integration Joint Board, and the handling of step-down care and cottage hospitals in the region.

During her evidence, the independent commissioner revealed some parents had suffered PTSD from past maternity failures.

She also revealed that she had to cancel a meeting with senior health officials after they failed to provide the information she asked for on risk mitigation when the Stranraer birthing suite closed.

Currently NHS Dumfries and Galloway is at stage three of a support and intervention framework due to ongoing concerns about its financial sustainability. But now MSPs are calling for it to be moved to stage four.

Speaking in parliament, Galloway and West MSP Finlay Carson said: “In 2024 independent clinical advice recommended reinstating midwife-led births in Wigtownshire, yet the Integrated Joint Board overturned that despite strong local support and the continued risks of long journeys for women in labour.

“Given this pattern of independent recommendations identified but then rejected, and public views set aside, beds removed without alternatives, and now the Patient Safety Commissioner warning of gaps in care and unclear risk mitigation, does the Government accept that NHS Dumfries and Galloway has reached the threshold for stage four escalation?”

Responding, an NHS spokesman said: “We continue to engage with the patient safety commissioner, who met with senior clinicians again last Friday.

“In addition to information already supplied to support the commissioner in her work, more is now set to be provided.

“Beyond this, we continue to explore means to improve the experience for the majority of expectant mothers, who, under any arrangement - either previously existing or proposed - would always be required to travel to Dumfries due to its consultant-led service.

“We, meanwhile, continue to offer the option of pre-planned home births for what in Wigtownshire is a small minority of mothers who are not assessed as high risk.

“Enhanced antenatal services at The Oak Tree Family Centre in Stranraer continue to help to reduce travel.

“In addition, we have discussed how we engage with families who have expressed distress or concern around their experiences, and our ability to provide support.

“The safety and wellbeing of mothers and infants was articulated as the key consideration when the Integration Joint Board reached its decision on the structure of maternity services in September 2024 following public consultation, and NHS Dumfries and Galloway continues to work to this direction.”