Health Secretary tells how he ‘nearly lost’ his wife during ectopic pregnancy

Health Secretary Neil Gray has told MSPs he “nearly lost” his wife during pregnancy after “inaccurate assessments” were carried out.

He recalled his personal ordeal as he announced measures aimed at improving care for mothers-to be.

The Health Secretary said a Scottish Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce is to be set up, which will listen to “women’s experiences of maternity services” and also “the voice of frontline midwives”.

After a critical report into maternity services at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh was published on Wednesday, he said NHS Lothian will be subject to increased intervention from the Scottish Government.

By moving the health board to level three on the NHS support and intervention framework, Mr Gray said “significantly enhanced support” will now be provided.

The Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) report raised “serious concerns” about the care provided to pregnant women at the hospital.

Mr Gray also praised families who spoke about their losses for a TV documentary, offering his “deepest condolences” to them.

The father-of-four told MSPs: “I haven’t spoken about this before, but my family knows personally what it is like to suffer pregnancy loss.

“Indeed during that experience, I also very nearly lost my wife due to inaccurate assessments of ectopic pregnancy symptoms, and that stays with me every day.”

The Health Secretary said he was “deeply disappointed and concerned” by the HIS report, saying he has been given “direct assurances” from health board bosses that it is “providing a package of support to women and families using its maternity services”.

He said the HIS report detailed “staffing levels leading to delays in care” as well as staff who were left “feeling overwhelmed, unsupported and not listened to”, as well as examples of “poor communication” with patients.

Mr Gray continued: “I am also greatly concerned about the findings relating to poor culture.

“Every member of staff deserves to feel valued, respected and supported at work, and their wellbeing should never be compromised.

“We will not tolerate these issues in our NHS.”

The Scottish Government is taking the issues raised “extremely seriously”, Mr Gray said, adding he wants NHS Lothian to “act immediately” on all 26 areas identified by HIS.

Stressing the need for “urgent improvements”, he said that is why the Government is stepping up the level of intervention in maternity services at NHS Lothian.

The Health Secretary added: “I expect to see evidence of improvement before the end of the year, particularly in relation to staff recruitment, training and development and handling of  adverse events.”

He also promised the Scottish Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, which will be chaired by women’s health minister Jenni Minto, will “provide strategic, national leadership”.

Mr Gray pledged: “I want the voices of women’s experiences of maternity services to be heard, as well as the voice of frontline midwives, and will make sure that they are part of the taskforce, and that we listen to them.

“Our commitment to continuous improvement across our NHS is vital. We must empower our services and our staff to make the necessary changes we need to ensure the safest and highest quality maternity services in Scotland.”