A mum forced to give birth in a lay-by due to the ongoing maternity unit shortages in Elgin has said she was “terrified to the core”.
Alexandra Naylor had originally planned to have her baby at Dr Gray’s Hospital, but during labour she was deemed “high risk” and transferred to Aberdeen Maternity Hospital.
All “high risk” births have been referred to Aberdeen or Inverness since the maternity unit in Elgin was “temporarily” downgraded in 2018, from consultant-led to midwife-led.
Campaigners are fighting to have full services restored, and say they are beginning to “lose patience” at the delays.
Mrs Naylor is now one of many mums backing the effort, after her own traumatic experience at the side of the A96 Aberdeen to Inverness road.
Sharing her story with campaign group Keep Mum, she said it felt like a “bad dream”.
‘I was absolutely terrified’
After complications arose when her waters were broken at Dr Gray’s on December 27, the midwives called for an ambulance to transfer her to Aberdeen.
She was strapped into an ambulance bed and said goodbye to her husband, who followed in a separate car.
She wrote: “I knew there was a chance I wouldn’t make it to Aberdeen. I was absolutely terrified.
“The journey was something I’ll never forget, the pain was absolutely excruciating. The painkillers felt like they had worn off and I could feel the baby coming.
“I kept asking my midwife every 10 minutes ‘Are we nearly there?’ I could see from the worried look from her face, that I definitely wasn’t going to make it.”
They pulled the ambulance over at a lay-by in Pitcaple near Inverurie after she started needing to push the baby. Thankfully her husband managed to catch up to the ambulance in time to witness the birth of their son.
Ms Naylor was pushing for 10 minutes before her little boy, named Casper, arrived at 1.48pm, 11 hours after the start of her contractions.
She said: “It was traumatic. I was restricted by seatbelts with no breaks in between pushing. It all felt like a bad dream, I was confused, in imaginable pain and terrified to the core.
“I couldn’t thank the paramedics and midwife enough for helping deliver my baby but this simply shouldn’t have happened.”
‘It is simply not good enough’
To make matters worse, when the family arrived at Aberdeen Maternity Hospital they claim that staff did not seem to be expecting them – and that there was some confusion as to why there were there, since Casper had already arrived.
Mrs Naylor claimed: “I’d just been through something that was traumatic for me and then to be felt like I wasn’t even wanted in Aberdeen was a lot to process. They even suggested taking me back to Dr Gray’s.”
Eventually it was decided to keep the pair in overnight for monitoring, and they were discharged the following day.
But while they are settling back into life at home, the experience has had a lasting impact on the mum.
“The whole experience has really affected my mental health,” she said. “It’s a journey that women shouldn’t have to suffer whilst in labour – or their partners for that matter.
“There’s far too much uncertainty. I gave birth in an ambulance in a lay-by and that will stay with me forever.
“I won’t be the first and I’m sure I won’t be the last. This is the reality we are having to face with a downgraded maternity unit. It is simply not good enough.”
‘We’re losing patience’
Kirsty Watson, from Keep Mum, described the experience as “particularly harrowing”.
She said: “It is barbaric and the aftermath of the traumatic experience will remain with this family for a long time, maybe forever. This would not have happened to this mum before the downgrading of services at Dr Gray’s in 2018.
“We are losing patience with the current set up re maternity services in Moray.
Ms Watson said: “NHS Grampian has dug their heels in over the last almost four years and refused to reinstate the consultant maternity service.
“They are ‘getting away’ with failing to provide an essential service to the families of Moray. Dr Gray’s needs to be supported to start returning the service.”
An independent review of the fiasco was ordered by the Scottish Government, and the recommendations were published in December.
It ruled out leaving things as they were and removing maternity services entirely, claiming either would be “inappropriate” and recommended in the short-term, emergency patients should be sent to Raigmore in Inverness as it is closer.
‘We are truly sorry’
Alasdair Pattinson, hospital general manager, at Dr Gray’s, said: “We are truly sorry about this experience and for the way this has left a mum and her family feeling. That isn’t something we want anyone to have to go through.
“Unfortunately we’re bound by medical confidentiality so aren’t able to publicly comment on the details of individual cases, however we would strongly encourage Ms Naylor to contact us to allow us to look into the concerns raised.
“Generally speaking, patients are only moved to Aberdeen or Inverness when there is a clinical need.
“We’re determined to find a sustainable, long-term solution for mum’s-to-be in Moray and we will continue to work with our partners, including Moray parents, NHS Highland, the Scottish Ambulance Service as well as The Scottish Government, to put in place a solution that works for Moray families as soon as possible. In the meantime, Dr Gray’s Maternity Unit continues to provide excellent and safe care.
“Once again – we’d like to publicly apologise to the family who had to go through this.”