Experts point to rural poverty, a shortage of GPS
Emma Edwards has been left thinking twice about having more children after her experience giving birth in the Highlands.
Emma, 23, had to make two 200-mile round trips to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness when she had her daughter, including a twohour drive while she was in labour. Her baby Karmen Mcphee also suffered an injury during her caesarean delivery and it was 24 hours before a plastic surgeon travelled from Aberdeen to Inverness to treat her.
Emma’s partner George Mcphee had to stay in a hotel and with friends while their daughter was kept in the special baby unit.
She said: “It kind of puts you off having another baby.
“Having Karmen was brilliant but the run-up to it wasn’t because you’re so far away from home. It’s so frustrating knowing there’s a maternity unit on your doorstep that you can’t use.
“I had to stay overnight on a ward and it would have made such a difference to come home.”
The first-time mum, from Wick, needed a C-section when she gave birth in June 2017 because of the size of her baby. Maternity services at her local hospital, Caithness General, were downgraded in 2016 so Emma had to travel 100 miles to Raigmore to have her baby. The procedure was delayed so she was kept in for two nights before it was rescheduled and she was sent home. Her waters had broken by the time she made the uncomfortable return journey.
Karmen then suffered a one-and-ahalf inch cut on the side of her head during the caesarean and had to stay in hospital for a week. But with fathers only getting two nights’ accommodation provided, which George had already used before Karmen was born, he had to fight to secure an extra two nights before being forced to stay with a friend.
NHS Highland carried out an investigation into Karmen’s injury and changed the way surgeons are briefed.