Highlands '˜baby boxes' for mothers faced with 100-mile trip

A campaign group is launching its own 'baby boxes' for Highland mothers who are facing a 100-mile trip to hospital to give birth.
The boxes will help Highlands mothers who have to travel 100 miles to give birth. Picture: ContributedThe boxes will help Highlands mothers who have to travel 100 miles to give birth. Picture: Contributed
The boxes will help Highlands mothers who have to travel 100 miles to give birth. Picture: Contributed

The kits, dubbed the 100 Mile Helper, are being put together by a group which was formed to fight against local hospital cuts. The Caithness Health Action Team is to produce the boxes following reports last week that only 20 per cent of expectant mothers were able to give birth at Caithness General Hospital.

The figure from the Wick hospital represented a huge drop from previous years, when about two-thirds of mothers from the area had their babies delivered locally.

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More expectant mothers are now having to make the 100-mile journey to the maternity ward at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.

Some mothers have even been faced with a four-hour transfer to Elgin while they were in labour.

Carrying echoes of the Scottish Government’s recently-launched baby box scheme, the helper kits aim to assist expectant mothers from Caithness who have to travel elsewhere to give birth.

There will be two types: one box will include a basic first aid kit, maps, towels, blankets, pillows, wet wipes, steriliser gel, bottled water, notebooks and pens and overnight essentials.

The other box is aimed at mothers who have to make the journey at short notice, and will include nappies, wipes, blanket, hygiene products for mothers and heat packs.

Caithness Health Action Team (CHAT) secretary Nicola Sinclair said the move to provide assistance has also come as a result of stressful journeys on the A9 during bad weather.

She said: “The 100 Mile Helper idea came about as a response to all the stories we’ve been receiving about fraught, stressful and even dangerous journeys down the A9, often in adverse weather.”

The group hopes to have the kits ready for distribution by spring.

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A spokesman for the health board said: “NHS Highland is meeting Caithness Health Action Team this week to address any concerns they may have.”

In a Facebook post on Monday, Caithness, Sutherland and Ross MSP Gail Ross said there needed to be more support for expectant mothers in her constituency.