Maternity Issue Unites Whole Community

[frank ward]

Tristan -

I'm double-checking my maths and am curious how you arrived at these figures:

"183 out of 303 Caithness/Sutherland births are considered high enough risk at the moment to be sent down to Raigmore already. If we have this many high risk births, isn't this justification enough to merit upgrading our services here? "

please let me know.

Frank Ward

gobbledegook@ukonline/co.uk

[frank ward]

DID YOU VOTE GREEN FOR THIS?

RobGibson spoke at the Rally last Sunday and repeated the call for a united front. But such unity must go both ways. We expect all our MSPs to support us, but alas they do not.

When people of the Highlands & Islands responded last May to election placards saying ‘2nd Vote Green’, little did they realize what an inept and blockheaded MSP they would get in top-of-the-Greens-list Eleanor Scott.
Let’s look at A Day In The Life of Ms Scott.

On Thursday last week, there was a debate on the simple motion “That the Parliament agrees that the council tax should be abolished and replaced with an income-based alternative."
This was proposed by the SSP and supported by the SNP. None of the Green Party MSPs made a contribution to the debate. When it came to a vote, Ms Scott joined the rest of her miserable Green clique and, alongside Jamie Stone, voted with Labour, LibDems and Tories against the motion, thus retaining this loathsome Tory tax for another indefinite period.

But there is worse to come.

That same day, there was a debate on the Caithness Maternity Unit. Now Ms Scott has been conspicuous in her absence at the public protests and since over the threat to the service .( Last year when hundreds gathered to greet Professor Calder, I understand she was a few miles away, too busy looking at the Caithness peat bogs – far more important than the trivial matter of life and death. But I digress.)

During the debate, Ms Scott made one brief and unhelpful intervention. Describing the proposer Rob Gibson as ‘naïve’, she rubbished his suggestion that
Consultants could be flown to Caithness from Raigmore.

She also insisted that she “would like to be somewhat more positive about the report than other members have been” and went on to give credence to the false assertions of Professor Calder that recruitment problems “makes a unit such as the current Caithness general hospital obstetrics service unviable”

After this debate, I now see why she gave no support to the protests at Wick.

May I suggest that your readers see for themselves how they are represented? The full day’s debates can be seen on this website: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/pl...02.htm#Col6643

“I feel fairly positive about the Calder report” she purred.

With friends like this, who needs enemies?

Frank Ward

[KitKat]

Maybe I am missing the point here but I notice Dr Johnston our local GP is on the health board. Do we know where he stands on the issue? Has he been asked or not and if he has has he given an answer? If he is against the downgrading of our services will he be prepared to argue our case with the health board? I notice most of the members live near Inverness so its going to be very difficult to get them to fully understand the problems we will have if our service is downgraded.

[A_Usher]

I too would be interested in what Dr Johnston's opinion is.

My wife (Dr Natasha Usher) and I (practice manager of Dunbeath Surgery) whole-heartedly believe that the maternity unit SHOULD NOT be down graded, and that we are concerned about the demise of local services. I personally believe that the closure of the unit would mean a domino effect that could overall affect the social and economical aspects of Caithness and Sutherland in a very negative way.

Regards,

Andrew Usher
Practice Manager
Dunbeath Surgery

[lynne duncan]

congratulations for speaking up it would be nice to see Dr Johnson and the other local doctors speaking up as well. Or are they only interested in their paychecks and not the local community?

[Anonymous]

Well, we all know that at least doc Pearson is on the right side.

I have heard rumours that the new doctors have been instructed to keep out of it.

[A_Usher]

What I find interesting is that no one (from the trust or related areas )has asked us at Dunbeath surgery, and I am assuming any of the other docs (although I could be wrong) what they feel about the closure or how that will affect their practice.

Which is strange , considering that we have a few practices in rural positions, that can be cut of due to snow etc, then logically this isn’t an ideal situation and one that concerns us.

Having said that, others problems will also arise on the out of hours scenario also, seeing as with the new contracts docs can opt out of their out of hours leaving it to the new health boards to sort out of hours cover out. However that’s slightly off topic and I wont go into that......

Regards,
Andrew Usher

[frank ward]

The North Action Group has agreed to organise protest outside Raigmore Hospital on Saturday 15th May at 12 noon.
Buses are being organised from Wick and Thurso, and the Belford Action Group in Lochaber and others are being invited.

There is no charge fo the buses (depart 9am) instead a collection will be held.
After the demonstration (around noon) there will be a few hours freetime before the bus leaves at 4pm.

Places limited. If you want to reserve a seat you must contact a member of NAG soon, or Email me at gobbledegook@ukonline.co.uk

frank

[Mr P Cannop]

any pipe bands involed ??

[frank ward]

Let it be clear that the new NHS Highland Board is an unelected quango and is no better than the two Trusts it has replaced.

The entire membersiip of the Board is determined by the Scottish Executive to carry out its programmes. All are appointed, non are elected, non are accountable and non can be removed or changed by local democratic means.

I'm still a little unclear about the formation of the new Board, but it appears to be something like this:
The new Board has 19 voting members.
12 are non-executive directors, 7 are executive directors (the highest paid administrators). Of this 19, 12 are full-time employees of the NHS, mostly high paid officias getting over £85,000pa, and senior medical staff.

Of the remaining 7, 1 is Garry Coutts, the part-time chairman on £26,000 pa. The minor 'non-ecxeciutive directors' get a minimum of £7000 plus expenses for attending 6 meetings per year.

If there's any factual errors here, I trust I will be corrected.

Thus the Board is stuffed with people who depend on the Government's grace and favour for this cushy little number. Indeed if they want to remain on the gravy train they must behave themselves. I attended the last two Board meetings can testify to the shamelkess behaviour of these contemptible brain-dead lickspittles who examine their bank statements closer than their consciences.

But they are merely carrying out the wishes of the Scottish Executive.

Dr Johnson is elected by nobody and represents nobody except himself and his employers, NHS Highland.


Frank Ward

[frank ward]

Yesterday (June 9th) members of NAG attended another 'workshop' intended to develop those options which will go to public 'consultation' regarding the future of the Maternity Unit in Wick. The NAG team makes up less than 10% of those invited.

Previously the Calder Report and the local Board raised the spectre that as Caithness has no intensive care baby unit, it is unsafe for babies.

When NAG produced statistics that showed such ICU care was required for less than one percent of all births, and that Wick has possibly the best trained and most experienced resuscitation and stabilisation staff in Scotland, the officials went quiet.

It has also emerged that the Inverness ICU is the smallest and least-used in the UK and despite the lack of experience that such units' staff are supposed to have, the Inverness unit is retained - quite rightly - for 'geographical' reasons.
Apparently the same logic does not apply to Caithness.

But every time NAG demolishes one of the board's facetious arguments, another rabbit is pulled from the hat.

Latest in the list of obstacles raised by officials is that because these is no adult intensive care unit in Caithness, it is unsafe for mothers to give birth there.

If this cynical ploy is accepted, the implications for general surgery not just in Caithness but for every acute unit in the UK is not missed.

Following yesterday's proceedings it seems that top official Paul Martin will produce a report for the Board recommending which options it should take forward.
(Martin has just taken the King's Shilling and is off to a plum job with NHS Scotland)

Instead of a sensible shortlist of options, he will ramble on about no less than 8 options, only one of which (24/7 cover) has the suppport of NAG and some of which had no support whatsoever from those present! This no doubt will give him the opportunity to give undue emphasis to obscure points while breezing through the important issues.

Also present were Board Chair Garry Coutts and member David Alston. Their presence was questioned by NAG as it was seen as intimidatory towards the staff present, but apparently they were there to "answer questions" !! Despite this there is obvious discomfort among many professionals about the situation.

Apparently this report will be ready within two weeks for presentation to the Board. NAG asked for it to be delayed to allow us time to prepare fresh arguments, this was declined. NAG will get no preview of the document.
Smelling a rat, a NAG member asked: "So this document will be discussed at the next Board meeting in August? Er, no.
More than likely there will be a Special Board Meeting convened at short notice and, like the Board meeting in Wick which railroaded the Calder Report through, the same will be done with the Martin Report.

Then a 3-month 'consultation' period will follow at the end of which the Board will vote on a single solution.
Of course there is no democratic input into this process. The entire Board is the tool of the Scottish Executive for the implementation of its centralisation policy. No member is elected nor can be removed by local democratic process.

It is emerging that the officials' prefered option is a midwife-led unit with perhaps a single consultant conducting day surgeries, and this possibly on a three-day week basis.
In other words, no change from their opinions of 6 months ago.

To date not a SINGLE risk assessment has been produced regarding the transport problems should the unit be downgraded. Conveniently there was nobody present from the Ambulance Service at the workshop. Perhaps they were afraid to explain the situation last week when Caithness had no ambulance cover for 13 hours?

At the workshop we were treated to a slide presentation about the wonderful midwife-led unit in Skye. At the end of it, a question was asked - 'How many babies were delivered in the unit last year?' The Answer?- er...., SEVEN ! (but rising!)
The number of midwives there has fallen from 33 to 10.
And when challenged that the Lochaber midwife unit was now exporting 80% of expectant mothers to Inverness and the unit was in trouble, the vague reply was "the figurers are not as high as that". (Actually NAG believes the figure to be 75% but the Board don't like answering questions about this)

You have been warned.

But of course the battle to save our maternity unit will not be won in the corridors of power. It will be won by public and political campaigning.

The next NAG protest will be on Thursday 17th June outside the Parliament building in Edinburgh. About 20 people are travelling down from Caithness.
If you have friends or relatives in the Capital, please ask them to join us in support. We will gather by the New College entrance at 10.15am.

[JAWS]

Well done the Scottish executive, it really is marvellous how they have their finger on the pulse of the Nation.

"Close a lot of Maternity Units, they are unnecessary because we have a constantly falling birth rate."

Perhaps the Executive and the Highland Health Board can explain how a falling birth rate can result in a 5% increase in births in Scotland last year!

[Tristan]

"Close a lot of Maternity Units, they are unnecessary because we have a constantly falling birth rate."

Perhaps the Executive and the Highland Health Board can explain how a falling birth rate can result in a 5% increase in births in Scotland last year!

Not really wanting to sound pedantic, but...if you have an increase in population, but a smallish increase in the number of babies born, the birth rate overall will go down even though the actual number of births goes up.

[Anonymous]

hence the reason that people should stop using percentages and use real numbers instead.

To quote from a book, "200% of nothing is nothing"

[JAWS]

I always thought a Pedant was somebody who kept walking into Lamp-posts because he couldn't stop looking at his feet!

[JAWS]

Figures? Fine!

Number Rate per 1000 women aged 15-44 Rate per 1000 births
All Births Live Births Still Births All Births Live Births Still Births

50 398 50 157 238 47.3 47.0 4.7

Aberdeen City 2 099 2 086 13 43.9 43.6 6.2
Aberdeenshire 2 315 2 306 9 52.2 52.0 3.9
Angus 1 002 997 3 49.5 49.3 3.0
Argyll and Bute 700 694 6 45.3 44.9 8.6
Clackmannanshire 473 472 1 48.6 48.5 2.1

Dumfries and Galloway 1 313 1 308 5 49.4 49.2 3.8
Dundee City 1 476 1 466 10 46.3 46.0 6.8
East Ayrshire 1 156 1 150 6 47.5 47.3 5.2
East Dunbartonshire 936 930 6 44.4 44.1 6.4
East Lothian 838 835 3 47.3 47.2 3.6

East Renfrewshire 897 892 5 50.4 50.1 5.6
Edinburgh City 4 373 4 350 23 40.4 40.2 5.3
Falkirk 1 529 1 523 6 50.3 50.1 3.9
Fife 3 046 3 034 12 42.3 42.1 3.9
Glasgow City 6 340 6 307 33 45.5 45.3 5.2

Highland 1 962 1 955 7 50.4 50.2 3.6
Inverclyde 749 745 4 43.3 43.1 5.3
Midlothian 817 814 3 49.5 49.3 3.7
Moray 891 888 3 55.2 55.0 3.4
North Ayrshire 1 355 1 347 8 49.0 48.7 5.9

North Lanarkshire 3 614 3 600 14 51.1 50.9 3.9
Orkney Islands 166 165 1 48.1 47.8 6.0
Perth and Kinross 1 250 1 244 5 50.2 50.0 4.0
Renfrewshire 1 731 1 718 13 47.4 47.0 7.5
Scottish Borders 972 969 3 49.2 49.0 3.1

Shetland Islands 220 219 1 53.0 52.7 4.5
South Ayrshire 937 932 5 44.6 44.3 5.3
South Lanarkshire 3 047 3 035 12 48.1 47.9 3.9
Stirling 826 820 6 45.3 44.9 7.3
West Dunbartonshire 972 969 3 48.8 48.7 3.1

Western Isles 237 236 1 53.2 53.0 4.2
West Lothian 1 943 1 936 7 54.1 53.9 3.6


I to can play silly little games with words.
But I would have thought the situation was a little more serious than that, however, it obviously isn't!

[Anonymous]

I to can play silly little games with words.
But I would have thought the situation was a little more serious than that, however, it obviously isn't!

Please explain...

[JAWS]

hence the reason that people should stop using percentages and use real numbers instead.

To quote from a book, "200% of nothing is nothing"

[Anonymous]

I thought it was obvoius that I was trying to back up what you were saying, by illustrating that percentages mean nothing and the true facts can only be observed from the actual numbers.

But you're obviously in "attack mode" so I'll just let you go it alone then.

[JAWS]

My misunderstanding. I've put my ballistic missiles back in their silos and ordered my tanks to withdraw from your front lawn. Hope they didn't make too much of a mess of the flower beds.

I really must find out why I was turned down for that job with the Diplomatic Service.