Humza ... step up for pregnant women and their unborn babies
Plea to Health Minister over Paisley maternity unit staffing
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf has been urged to step in and tackle the problems plaguing Paisley’s Royal Alexandra Hospital.
The plea from politician Neil Bibby comes as NHS bosses played down fears of a staffing crisis at the facility’s maternity unit.
Mr Bibby says he has been told by insiders that mums-to-be are waiting up to 12 hours to be seen.
Claims were also made in a weekend national newspaper that staff are “struggling” because of shortages and neonatal deaths are on the rise.
West of Scotland Labour politician Neil, told the Express: “Reports about the worsening staffing situation at the RAH are deeply alarming.
“The prospect of interruptions to maternity services is causing real anxiety locally.
“I have been told that patients have waited up to 12 hours to be seen and I am also told the unit is relying more and more on newly qualified staff.
“Huge and long-standing recruitment challenges in the NHS have been compounded by covid and the situation demands immediate action.
“The Health Secretary has to intervene.
“His recovery plan is not gearing the NHS back up.
“It is struggling to guarantee continuity of vital services.
“It’s time to put the frontline first, back RAH staff and deliver a real recovery plan to get the health service through this crisis.”
Whistleblowers say the health board’s attempts to bolster staff numbers using newly-qualified midwives means they are not getting the support they need from their over-worked colleagues.
However, bosses at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde say there are “no significant changes” to staff turnover when compared with any other year, but did admit the community maternity unit had to temporarily close to plug staffing gaps.
A spokesman told the Express: “We would like to thank our staff for their tireless work during what has been a very difficult period.
“While there have been staffing challenges impacted by Covid-19 at the maternity unit of the Royal Alexandra Hospital, in Paisley, there has been no notable or significant change in staff turnover compared to previous years.
“In recent weeks, 12 newly qualified midwives have also joined the RAH maternity team, helping to bolster existing numbers.
“While the RAH maternity unit meets requirements for safe staffing, we review staffing levels frequently during any 24-hour period.
“We use flexible working patterns alongside making use of bank staff whenever required, which means all sites are able to respond swiftly to manage shortterm staffing challenges.
“Unfortunately, as part of this strategy, we had to temporarily close our community maternity unit in RAH, which allowed us to continue to deliver our core maternity services.”
He added: “We have absolute confidence in maternity staff at the RAH, with frequent feedback from women reflecting the extremely high standard of care.
“We maintain a focus on womancentred care, safety and quality of care at the RAH.
“Through our robust management systems across our maternity services, we regularly review our position to ensure the highest standards are being maintained at all times.
“This includes ensuring staff have the support, training, and supervision required.”