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Lesley Riddoch Show At Wick Features Caithness
Maternity Issue - Friday 21 May 04
The Lesley Riddoch Show on Friday 21 May 2004 featured the problem
of cuts to consultant led services at Caithness General Hospital.
The show was a public relations disaster for the NHS
Highland Health Board as Health Board chairman Gary Coutts in Inverness
backed by Professor Calder in Glasgow tried to deal with point after point
raised by local mothers, midwives, North Action Group members fronted by
George Bruce the chairman. Caithness Area Convenor David Flear and
councillors Graham Smith and Bill Fernie.
The crowd at Safeways car park was in no mood to
give ground in the arguments to retain consultant led services and
hammered the arguments for downgrading put forward by Gary Coutts and
Professor Calder.
North Action Group members were well represented in
the audience and Martin Duffy, Aelix Bain, Lynne Duncan and others all
gave several reasons why the unit should retain a consultant led service.
Midwife Margaret Hart excelled in her explanations of why Caithness was
different to other areas referred to by The Health Board. The
distance factor was once again mentioned by several speakers. The
possibility of fatalities both in the past and future were mentioned.
Lesley Riddoch Show From BBC Radio Scotland At Wick Featured Caithness
Maternity Issue
Mothers and North Action Group Head To Head With Health Board On Lesley
Riddoch Show
Caithness Folk United Batter Health Board Chairman And Professor Calder -
Listen Yourself - Who Is Right?
If you missed the programme you can hear it for the next seven days on
Listen Again at BBC Radio Scotland. Follow the link and then select
Lesley Riddoch Show for Friday. The programme heard from Health
Board chair Gary Coutts and Professor Calder who produced the report with
recommendations about Caithness Maternity. Hear local mothers,
midwife Margaret Hart, Convenor David Flear, NAG Chairman George Bruce,
Councillors and NAG members Graham Smith and Bill Fernie, Wcik Community
Council chair and NAG member Aeliix Miller, Martin Duffy NAG member plus
others.
North Action
Group Edinburgh Maternity Protest Support Grows From The Capital
the North Action Group are taking the maternity protest to the Scottish
Parliament in Edinburgh on 17 June. Support is coming in from people
in Edinburgh who have Caithness connections but the numbers look set to
increase as local trade unions are sending supporters from Caithness and
Harwell. UKAEA is granting time off to a few members to attend the
protest as NAG members set out to lobby MSP's If you are in
Edinburgh and want to join the NAG demo at the Scottish Parliament at The
Mound get in touch with any
NAG member.
North Action
Group Members Will Again Attend Health Board Meeting on 1 June
NAG members are determined to let no opportunity to show that people in
the northern Highland cannot be ignored and will once again send a
delegation to the board meeting on 1 June at Assynt House, Inverness.
The feeling is that NAG members are prepared to travel the miles to
Inverness and Edinburgh so that mothers to be and their families do not
have to go over 100 miles from Wick or 130 miles from North West
Sutherland if maternity services are down-graded.
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