GPs feel 'sidelined' by pregnancy ruling

Published on Sunday 5 April 2009 22:18

WOMEN will no longer go to their GPs for routine checks during pregnancy, it emerged yesterday.

Under a shake-up of maternity services, the usual GP checks are due to be handed over to midwives.

The new rules are expected to be launched throughout Scotland later this year and are designed for healthy women who do not develop compli-cations during their pregnancies.

The plans are part of the Scottish Government's strategy Keeping Childbirth Natural and Dynamic.

But they have aroused some unease among GPs, some of whom have argued that they are best placed to spot potentially dangerous problems.

Dr Jim Cowan, a GP representative on the group examining the issue, said that his colleagues were "disappointed" with the decision.

He added: "We are being sidelined."

But Gillian Smith, the director of the Royal College of Midwives, welcomed the new strategy.

"I think this is a good piece of work. I think it is the midwives working as a linchpin, and as a first point of contact," she said.

However, she added that she could understand why GPs were reluctant to relinquish this part of their role.