FINNIE- CHANGES COULD STILL HINDER CMU'S PROGRESS

Written by Press Release on Mon 18th Jan 2010

West of Scotland Liberal Democrat MSP Ross Finnie is still concerned that the excellent progress made by Inverclyde's CMU could be hindered by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde's changes to the service.

There were 116 babies born at Inverclyde Royal Hospital in 2009 up 15% on 2008. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde recently transformed the CMU at Inverclyde Royal to an "on-call" service outside the hours of 9-5 and at weekends. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde also announced proposals to recruit dozens of Maternity Care Assistants (MCAs) to work in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde Area despite the opposition of the Royal College of Midwives in Scotland.

Commenting Mr Finnie said:

"It was excellent to see the number of births increase at Inverclyde's CMU. Credit for this must go to the hard working midwives and staff who provide such a first rate service. .

"I remain concerned however that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde's proposals to switch to an out-of-hours service will hinder the progress being made at the CMU.

"The CMU's progress over the last year totally justifies the independent report's demand that the unit should be kept open for a minimum of 3 years to allow confidence in the unit to build up."

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