John Swinney defends SNP plan to downgrade award-winning neonatal unit
The First Minister said the Scottish Government is following expert clinical advice
John Swinney has defended plans to downgrade a neonatal unit despite warnings the decision will have a “human cost”.
The First Minister said the the proposals for the neonatal intensive care unit (Nicu) at University Hospital Wishaw followed expert clinical advice.
But Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the move would force families to travel long distances to receive the care they need.
He accused Mr Swinney of ignoring some experts and “hiding behind” others. An online petition against the change has surpassed 25,000 signatures, and it has become a key issued in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election.
Mothers who have relied on the specialist service at Wishaw previously warned patients could be left with no choice but to travel to Aberdeen or England, or even as far as Ireland, because of the severe pressure the maternity units in Glasgow and Edinburgh are already under.
Under the Government’s proposal, the Nicu at Wishaw in North Lanarkshire will be downgraded to level two, meaning babies born earlier than 27 weeks will need to be transferred to another hospital.
The number of specialist units across Scotland will be reduced from eight to three, with services provided at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and Aberdeen Maternity Hospital.
Speaking at First Minister’s Questions in Holyrood, Mr Sarwar said: “Wishaw neonatal has won awards for the standard of care it delivers, and even people in this chamber have relied on the unit in their time of need. So why does the SNP want to downgrade this life-saving unit?”
Mr Swinney said the Government had sought clinical advice from experts including the medical director of NHS Forth Valley and the Scottish Neonatal Nurses Group.
Units cut from eight to three
He said: “This has not been conjured up by the Government considering an issue on its own behalf.
“We have sought expert clinical opinion, which I’ve put on the record as to where that’s come from, and there will be other occasions in parliament where members of parliament will take the government to task for not following expert opinion.
“And here Mr Sarwar wants me to ignore expert opinion, which has led us to the conclusions that we have [made].”
The First Minister said the unit at Wishaw will continue to operate, but a “very small number of babies, where there is a need for expert specialist care to maximise their chances of survival” will be treated elsewhere.
Mr Sarwar said he understood the experts had recommended a range of options “and the government is choosing the lower level of that range rather than other options”.
He said the plans to downgrade Wishaw are opposed by clinicians, experts and parents.
The Scottish Labour leader said: “I think John Swinney is choosing to listen to certain experts and ignore other experts in the process, and hide behind experts when it comes to this Government’s decision.
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“The reality is that this is an award-winning unit that is giving life-saving care and the expertise exists there, but would not if this unit was downgraded, and the SNP’s failure to support neonatal NHS services has a human cost.”
He raised the case of Amanda Todd from South Lanarkshire, who faced the prospect of having to travel to Dublin to give birth in 2021 because of bed shortages. She only found out space was available in Scotland the day before her operation.
Mr Sarwar said the NHS is not safe in Mr Swinney’s hands, but the First Minister said the decision was about “maximising the chances of saving babies’ lives”.
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