Full consultant-led maternity care to return to Moray in 2026

Full consultant-led maternity services will return to Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin in 2026, the Scottish Government has announced.

Staffing shortages forced the services to be withdrawn in 2018, with ministers and the health board coming under pressure to find a solution.

On Friday, the Scottish Government announced a phased approach to the return of services at the Moray hospital, culminating in 2026.

By the end of this year, complex antenatal care and day assessments will return, with elective Caesarean births restarting early in 2025, before the full consultant-led service returns the following year.

The Government announced £6.6 million of funding to create an integrated maternity service across the north of Scotland – to be delivered by NHS Grampian and NHS Highland.

According to the Government, a “networked model of care” with Raigmore Hospital in Inverness will give future mothers the choice of where they give birth from early 2025, once refurbishment work at the hospital has been completed.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “NHS Grampian and Highland’s ambitious plan will deliver what local people have asked for – a return to obstetric maternity services at Dr Gray’s in a safe and sustainable way.

“I thank both health boards and their clinical teams for the collaborative and innovative work that has gone into the development of this plan.

“I am grateful to Professor Linda De Caestecker, who was appointed to provide external assurance, for her advice and support which has been crucial in getting us to this point.

“Delivering the plan will not be without its challenges, and the collaborative approach NHS Grampian and Highland have in place will provide a solid platform for shared delivery.

“Professor De Caestecker has agreed to continue to provide external assurance in the first year of the delivery period and I very much welcome this.”

Scottish Conservative leader and Moray MP Douglas Ross has long campaigned for the return of services after being forced to follow his wife from Elgin to Aberdeen as she was transported while in labour.

Mr Ross welcomed the announcement and the funding, describing the news as “a step in the right direction”.

He added: “Earmarking millions for this initial implementation is positive, but it is crucial that it is spent in the right areas.

“The devil will be in the detail of this announcement and the finer print must give expectant mothers in Moray and tireless campaigners confidence once and for all over the return of consultant-led services at Dr Gray’s.

“Many promises have been made before but have proven not to be worth the paper they are written on.

“The reality still remains that the so-called temporary downgrade of maternity services at Dr Gray’s will have lasted eight years for Moray mums if this plan is realised on time.”

Mr Ross also warned the Health Secretary of problems in recruiting staff to work in the health service in the north of Scotland, saying: “If this implementation is to be successful, then Humza Yousaf needs to recognise that serious issues around recruitment remain.

“That is exacerbated by the rural and remote geography of Moray and the Highlands and the solid platform he has described could fall apart without the required staff in place.”

NHS Grampian chief executive Professor Caroline Hiscox said the funding will allow the health board to begin the recruitment process “as soon as possible to provide the necessary expertise required at Dr Gray’s Hospital”.

Moray SNP MSP Richard Lochhead said: “I’m delighted the Health Secretary Humza Yousaf has delivered £6.6 million plans to restore a consultant-led maternity service at Dr Gray’s, meaning NHS Grampian can now move forward with the first round of recruitment.

“This feels like the first serious step forward in delivering the plan to restore these vital services in Elgin and it is now imperative that NHS Grampian works flat-out, leaving no stone unturned, to secure the staff we need.

“I think everyone in Moray recognises that restoration won’t happen overnight and that services will need to be rebuilt in a phased way, in order to ensure they are safe, sustainable, and fit for the future.

“This funding from the Scottish Government shows a real commitment to make sure that happens.

“I want to pay tribute to (campaign group) Keep MUM and everyone who has been involved in the campaign to this point.”