Partners will miss out on baby scans in new safety measure

Partners of pregnant women in Tayside and Fife will miss seeing their baby for the first time.

Changes at Kirkcaldy’s Victoria Hospital mean partners will be unable to attend first scan or booking appointments.

Women who are due maternity appointments will be given a telephone call from hospital staff the morning of, or the night before, their appointment.

A statement from NHS Fife said: “This will be via a phone call from an 0800 number the morning of, or night before, their appointment to triage for Covid-19 symptoms.

“It is important that these calls are answered so keep an eye out.

“Further changes have also been implemented as part of ongoing Covid-19 resilience, which mean only pregnant women may attend their

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We are having to take big decisions, often at short notice, to protect those most at risk. NURSING DIRECTOR HELEN BUCHANAN

booking/first scan,” the statement said.

NHS Fife suspended all visiting at its hospital sites from midnight last Tuesday.

Nursing director Helen Buchanan said: “In these unprecedented times we are having to take big decisions, often at short notice, to protect those most at risk.”

Birth partners will no longer be able to visit antenatal and postnatal wards at NHS Tayside hospitals.

Partners will still be able to be present during childbirth.

Claire Pearce, NHS Tayside’s director of nursing and midwifery, said: “This will allow us to keep women and their babies safe and healthy at this time.”

The new restrictions are in addition to the measures introduced by NHS Tayside last week which stipulated that all women in Tayside will give birth at Ninewells.