Birthing service return ruled out at hospital - so 70-mile trip remains

Birthing services were removed in Stranraer more than six years ago

A return of some birthing services at a maternity unit in south-west Scotland has been ruled out for the "foreseeable future" - meaning a 70-mile journey for expectant mothers.

An independent review had found in favour of a limited resumption for "low risk" pregnancies at the Galloway Community Hospital in Stranraer.

However, Dumfries and Galloway Health and Social Care Partnership (DGHSCP) decided against that move. It means pregnant women will continue to have to travel to Dumfries.

A campaigner - who estimated she had travelled about 7,500 miles to get maternity care - has described the decision as a "kick in the teeth".

A limited return of birthing services in Stranraer has been ruled out

The situation dates back to 2018 when staff sickness was blamed for the problems at the Galloway Community Hospital.

It resulted in the decision to stop birthing services at the site and move them to Dumfries.

At the time, the health board said recruitment had already started to tackle the situation but provision has never been resumed.

It prompted repeated calls to bring back birthing services and an independent review concluded they could return for "low risk" pregnancies.

Despite that, DGHSCP's Integration Joint Board has decided not to go down that road.

Andy McFarlane, who chairs the board, said it had confidence in maternity services throughout the region.

He said the decision had not been an easy one to make.

Mr McFarlane said the board had concluded that maintaining the current provision was the "best and most deliverable and sustainable model now and for the foreseeable future".

He said any reintroduction of birthing services would have been for a small number of expectant mothers and would not be significantly different from a home birth.

They had also considered what was "deliverable safely", Mr McFarlane said, and that many women nationally faced "quite lengthy" journeys to give birth.

He added that it had been a "challenging decision" but the board felt its approach was "reasonable and appropriate for all".

Campaigner Claire Fleming - who clocked up thousands of miles to give birth - described the move as "absolutely horrendous" and said she was "truly upset".

"It’s another kick in the teeth for the women of Wigtownshire and I feel like I’ve been strung along attending meetings and NHS-led focus groups when they had no intention of changing," she said.

"The independent review highlighted the dangers and they’ve chosen to ignore them."

Ms Fleming said she now feared for the long-term future of maternity services in the area.

"The unit will be completely closed in the next few years, this is just the first step," she warned.