14th April 2008
“See CMU’s Great Work for Yourself”,
McNeil Invites Health Secretary
MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Duncan
McNeil, has invited the Health Secretary, Nicola Sturgeon, to come and see for
herself the great work being done in the under-threat Community Midwife Unit (CMU)
at Inverclyde Royal Hospital.
Although
the CMU at the IRH has only been in existence since the last maternity service
reorganisation five years ago, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde want to transfer
the current birthing suite services to Paisley’s Royal Alexandra Hospital,
while keeping ante-natal and post-natal services in Inverclyde.
Mr
McNeil said that, if Ms Sturgeon saw for herself just how the unit was
operating, she would never agree to close it.
He told the her:
“Given
that the dust has hardly settled after the most recent maternity reorganisation,
under which the midwife-led unit was set up, it would seem logical that the CMU
should be given sufficient time and opportunity to establish itself.
To this end, I would like to invite you to visit the IRH CMU and see
firsthand how the unit is developing and the great work being done by its
dedicated staff.”
Speaking
to the Telegraph, Mr McNeil said:
“I
agree with the expert panel which found that the CMU has not been open for a
long enough time for its success or otherwise to be properly assessed.
It makes perfect sense to give the unit another three years to bed in,
but NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has simply ignored the panel’s findings and
has specifically excluded the status quo option from the consultation.
“I
have therefore asked the Minister to come and see the unit for herself.
If she saw first-hand the level of service which the unit’s excellent
staff are delivering, she would never agree to its closure.”
A
consultation on the future of the Community Midwife Unit at Inverclyde Royal
Hospital has now begun and runs until 19th June 2008.
Copies of the consultation document are available online at: www.nhsggc.org.uk/clydematernity
or by calling 0800 027 7246 during office hours.
Responses
can be emailed to: clydematernity@nhsggc.org.uk
or posted to: Clyde Maternity Services Consultation, John Hamilton, Head of
Board Administration, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Dalian House, 350 St
Vincent Street, Glasgow G3 8YZ.
ENDS
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