Moray MP Douglas Ross has demanded that NHS Grampian and the Scottish Government fully consults local medical practitioners and the local community as it plans future maternity services in Moray.
Commenting Douglas said: "It is alarming that the health secretary Jeane Freeman has sent NHS Grampian back to the drawing board after its plan failed to meet her expectations.
“I'm afraid that her handling of the crisis must now be questioned. She insisted on producing a plan in ten working days, involved her own officials to help, and then discovered that it is not fit for purpose when it was placed on her desk.
“This is hardly surprising as all the evidence suggests that key staff involved in delivering the service were not consulted and neither was the wider community who didn’t get to see the final plan.
Douglas added: "It is clear that maternity services in Moray are now worse than they were 25 years ago due to the closure of the consultant-led unit.
“Midwives who have contacted me are also particularly concerned about the loss of community hospitals between Moray and Aberdeen which means that there are no facilities for ambulances to divert to if they need an emergency stop during transfer. These cottage hospitals were closed on the understanding that Dr Gray's would provide a comprehensive service with only high-risk mums going to Aberdeen well in advance of their due dates. We now have the worst of both worlds - no proper service at Dr Gray’s and no cottage hospitals for mums in transit - made even worse by the fact that NHS Grampian is in disarray as it fails to meet the minister's demands.”
He added: "I’ve been contacted by staff who were told they would be consulted yet they have been completely ignored in this process. It is simply not good enough. They have the experience and expertise and we should be utilising this valuable resource rather than keeping them out of the loop.
“Perhaps if their views and those of the public had been taken on board, the health secretary would not have had to ask the health board to go back to the drawing board.
"NHS Grampian needs to talk to its own staff and the wider community and come up with proposals that we can all have confidence in, and not just the health secretary."