Committee to visit neonatal unit at risk of being downgraded

A Scottish Parliament committee is to visit an award winning hospital’s specialist baby unit due to a petition calling for a stop to plans to centralise neonatal intensive care services.

MSPs on the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee will meet local families and staff at the neonatal unit at University Hospital Wishaw on Monday.

The visit will support the committee’s evidence gathering in response to the petition.

The Scottish Government published The Best Start: A five-year forward plan for maternity and neonatal care in Scotland in 2017.

The report set out to place the current and future needs of women, babies and families, and person-centred, relationship-based care, at the heart of redesigned maternity and neonatal services.

One of its key recommendations was to centralise specialist services by reducing the number of neonatal intensive care units (Nicus) from eight to three, with University Hospital Wishaw amongst the hospitals to see its unit downgraded.

The petition outlines that services could be affected across Scotland, including specialist neonatal units in University Hospital Wishaw, Ninewells in Dundee and Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy.

The petition states there is a particular focus on retaining services at University Hospital Wishaw, which was awarded neonatal unit of the year 2023 and which serves a population of 655,000 people.

Committee convener Jackson Carlaw said: “This is an important visit as we seek to understand the impact of Scottish Government plans to downgrade neonatal units across Scotland, including the specialist service provided at Wishaw.

“We look forward to having the opportunity to discuss the issues raised by the petition with the petitioner, local families and staff.”