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Women giving birth in lay-bys and travelling 70 miles after miscarriages, ITV investigation finds

Women in south-western Scotland face a 70-plus mile journey whilst in labour, leaving some giving birth in lay-bys, an ITV News investigation has found.

Evidence gathered was presented to the Scottish Human Rights Commission in Edinburgh, which described it as a "concern."

One woman, Debbie Kelly, described how she had her sixth child in 2021 "in a lay-by on the Gatehouse bypass" after not getting to the main hospital in Dumfries, 50 miles away from her home, in time.

"It was scary, it was horrible," she said.

After going into labour Ms Kelly travelled to Dumfries, but was told to return home, despite her objections, after her pregnancy progressed slowly. When her contractions began several hours later, she was taken back up the road by ambulance.

"It was scary because I was in the ambulance on my own and my husband was in the car behind me," she said. "He didn't even get to see the birth."

Wigtownshire sits in the south-west of Dumfries and Galloway, with its largest town, Stranraer, along the coast over seventy miles away from Dumfries.

Until 2018, women with low-risk pregnancies could give birth at a maternity unit in the town. It was mothballed due to low staff numbers, and for the last six years women have had to travel to the Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary to give birth.

The NHS offers home births in the region, although ITV News didn't speak to any women who had been offered one.

"It was scary"

Stranraer is connected to Dumfries by the A75, a predominately single carriageway road which is a major freight route, connecting Gretna to Northern Ireland-bound ferries leaving from a port at Cairnryan. As a result, traffic on the road can frequently be slow-moving.

Multiple women suggested that there was fear, and anxiety, about using the road whilst in labour, in part due to circulating stories like that of Debbie Kelly.

Whilst high-risk births took place in Dumfries prior to the closure of the Stranraer unit in 2018, some believe that if maternity services returned to the town staff would be better able to deal with emergencies.

Chantice Gibb was 19 weeks pregnant when she lost her baby in August 2022. After experiencing pain she went to the Emergency department in Stranraer, and was told to make her own way to Dumfries.

Unable to do so, an ambulance was eventually called - but Ms Gibb lost her baby before it had left the car park.

Her partner, Ryan, wants to see the maternity unit reopened. "So it doesn't happen to anyone again," he explained. "Or anyone doesn't go through the problems, the complications, that we did."

Evidence a "concern," say Scottish Human Rights Commission

ITV News presented evidence gathered as part of the investigation to the Scottish Human Rights Commission, which has been examining human rights issues, including the right to health, in the Highlands and Islands over recent months.

"It's absolutely fair to say that these are concerns," the Chief Executive, Jan Savage, said.

"We are not quite in the stage of describing them as human rights violations because that would require the commission to take a deeper look; not just at the stories that you've uncovered, but to look at that across the region.

"What we're seeing through our work in the Highlands and Islands and what you're uncovering in more rural communities merits further investigation."

An ongoing consultation

An independent review into maternity service provision in Wigtownshire was published in June 2023.

It then presented two options to the NHS, which then launched a consultation with local people. One of the options presented was that the unit should remain closed, with only some, low-risk home births to take place in Wigtownshire. The other would return births to the unit in Stranraer.

According to NHS Dumfries and Galloway, less than a quarter of all births in Wigtownshire are classed as low-risk.

The consultation concluded in February, with a decision expected later in 2024.

Campaigners have been calling for the return of the maternity unit since its closure. Clare Fleming, who was told she'd lost her baby in Stranraer and then had to drive over 70 miles to Dumfries to deliver it, said it was for "women to choose where to give birth, not for the NHS to tell us."

While local councillor Jackie McCamon said, "If I was residing in Dumfries and I had to travel 75 miles, which is the equivalent of driving from Dumfries to Glasgow, I don't think that would be acceptable."

Consultation being carried out with "good practice guidance," says NHS

In a statement NHS Dumfries and Galloway said: "NHS Dumfries and Galloway are currently reviewing their maternity service provision for birthing services in the Wigtownshire area.

"Antenatal and postnatal maternity care continues to be provided throughout the region at this time, including from The Oak Tree Family Centre in Stranraer.

"NHS Dumfries and Galloway continues to recommend, and this is reflected in both options out for consultation for future maternity service models, that women whose pregnancies are classified as high-risk should give birth at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary in Dumfries.

"The consultation is being carried out in line with good practice guidance around consultation and engagement and has provided several opportunities for all stakeholders, including service users, staff and wider communities across Dumfries & Galloway, to contribute their views and shape the final outcome."

The Scottish Government declined repeated requests for an interview. In a statement a spokesperson said: "The loss of a baby, no matter at what stage of pregnancy, is a traumatic event. And our condolences to the families who have shared their experiences of their loss.

"We have introduced the National Bereavement Care Pathway to help all families who experienced baby loss to receive high quality and compassionate care."

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