Rennie questions Health Secretary over maternity care failings

Scottish Liberal Democrat and North East Fife MSP Willie Rennie has today questioned Scottish Government Health Secretary Neil Gray on the failings in maternity services revealed by BBC Disclosure and Healthcare Improvement Scotland.

He asked the Health Secretary to consider a national investigation if that was recommended by a new taskforce which the minister announced in a statement to the Scottish Parliament. In response, Neil Gray said that he remained ‘open minded’ if new information came to light.

Speaking in the Holyrood chamber, Willie Rennie said:

“I’ve been working with Lori Quate for some time. He lost, as you saw in the programme last night Presiding Officer, his wife and daughter within twenty-four hours of each other. It was a traumatising experience.

“I welcome the Cabinet Secretary’s statement today but what it does acknowledge is not whether there is a problem but that there is a problem. Because all of those are not isolated cases, but there is a problem with the system as a whole, because we’ve seen with the inspections in Lothian and Tayside that that is the case.

“So the question now is how do we deliver change. And I accept the Cabinet Secretary set out a series of procedures that he’s got and processes, and also a new taskforce. But if he finds through that taskforce that a national investigation is required in order to stimulate adequate change across the country, will he agree to such an investigation? Because it is important that we learn the lessons from this rather than it being forgotten as a one-time episode.

“So will he consider a national investigation if that’s what the taskforce finds?”