 I will now move to the next final item of business, and I would ask those members who are leaving the chamber to please do so quickly and quietly, as we are now back in session. Thank you. The final item of business is a member's business debate on motion 10307, in the name of Megan Gallacher, on maternity services in Scotland. This debate will be concluded without any questions being put. I would ask those members who would wish to speak in the debate to please press the request-a-suite button. I call on Megan Gallacher to open the debate around us. I begin by thanking those members and those in the gallery who have stayed on tonight to take part in a wider discussion about maternity services in Scotland. It is greatly appreciated. Although I am shocked not to see Collette Stevenson because she did want more time to debate this issue, and this would have been the ideal opportunity for her to participate in the debate. Having not one but two debates on the same issue shows how strongly MSPs feel about maternity services being removed or scaled back. As I mentioned earlier, the SNP does not have a good track record when it comes to maternity services. Since 2016, this Government has downgraded or closed maternity or neonatal services at Keith Ness General Hospital WIC, Dr Gray's and Murray, University of Wishaw General, Ninewells Dundee and Victoria Hospital Fife. Expectant mums and newborn babies up and down the country have been impacted by those decisions, with many starting-up campaign groups to voice their anger and frustration. That chamber has heard the issues that rural mums face when travelling over 100 miles to give birth in hospital, especially during the harsh winter months. There have been many debates on this exact issue, but we have yet to see maternity services fully reinstated at either Keith Ness or Dr Gray's. What I find staggering is that more than 90 per cent of children born in the Keith Ness area were delivered at Regmore hospital in Inverness, despite there being a maternity ward in Keith Ness general. The process for a mother going into labour in those areas is even more questionable. The general instruction is to get in the car and when you are having contractions that is no easy task with your partner if they happen to be with you at the time, and travel 105 miles down the one and only road to Inverness, the A9. This road is the exact road that this Government has failed to dual, and they seem to think that it is safe for mums to give birth at the side of the road. Once the expecting mother arrives at the hospital, they admit themselves to the maternity ward at Regmore, and that is if it is time to admit that, as mums will understand, contractions do not automatically mean admission to hospital. Any false alarm would result in a 210-mile round trip. Does the Government seriously think that this is a comfortable and acceptable journey for women suspected of being in labour to make? No expecting mum should ever have to face a journey like that, but yet it still happens. Campaign groups in the Highlands have rightly been angered by this, and it appears that they have been given no support by this Government to provide them with better maternity care. They have been forgotten about by this Government, and the SNP should feel ashamed of the journey that rural mums need to make to give birth in a maternity ward. The reason I brought this member's debate to the chamber today is because I am a mum. When the news broke about Worcestershire General Hospital in the NHS being downgraded, I could not sit back and let it happen, because I gave birth to my own daughter just over a year ago. I met the wonderful midwifery team at the hospital. The care and support that they give to families and newborn babies are second to none. I could not understand and still do not understand why Worcestershire General, or any of the other areas were selected for downgrading, but that is part of the problem. This plan to reduce the number of maternity services in Scotland has been shrouded in secrecy, and many questions have been left unanswered. In the case of Wisha Neonatal, babies who need specialised care could be transferred to either Glasgow, Edinburgh or Aberdeen, the three major cities, instead of being closer to home. For the benefit of those saying that Glasgow might be close by to Wisha General, if it was Aberdeen, that is roughly 150 miles away from Wisha. What message is that sending to mums who are already going through an exceptionally stressful time that they will need to make a substantial journey in order to access specialised care when the care that they could receive is actually within the hospital they are due to go to? It makes absolutely no sense. It is Monica Lennon said earlier on, make it, make sense. The minister spoke about a fund earlier on that parents can access to help with costs for travel and food, but I must say eight pounds fifty is not going to get you that far if you have to travel to Aberdeen. It is centralisation for centralisation's sake at the expense of vulnerable mothers and babies. Has the Government thought about how traumatising it could be for a new mum and baby to be put in ambulance and told that she needs to go to another hospital? All because the one that she is currently in can no longer help them. I get the minister said that journeys would happen before Labour started, but babies do not always work that way. As we heard in the case of Mark Griffin in his family, there are cases where it would not be safe to move a mother or baby, and I do thank Mark for sharing his story and I understand why he is not able to take part in the committee's debate this evening. Let us not forget that we are talking about giving support to babies who need it most. Surely that should be delivered as close to home as possible. Then, of course, there are the logistics. Will the midwives be required to work within several different health boards? If a mother and baby need to be transferred, will the midwife have to accompany them, resulting in less resource within a general? When that is already stretched to breaking point, as it already is. Finally, there has been a shocking lack of consultation. The announcement came out of the blue, and that was the reason why a large group of concerned women are here this evening, because they will not stand for it, nor should they. I have enough time left to thank those who contacted MSPs widespread about this issue, especially Lynn, who is at the forefront of the campaign to stop the neonatal department at Wisher General for being downgraded. Lynn has her own story about her son, Ines, and I have loved seeing photos of him since he appeared on a BBC documentary highlighting the wonderful support that he received during his stay at Wisher General while receiving specialised neonatal care. It is because of Ines and other babies that we will fight this decision every step of the way, because Murray Mums fought the downgrade, Kate Ness Mums is still fighting the downgrade. In Lanarkshire Mums, we are the feisty type, and we will fight this decision every step of the way. Thank you, Ms Gallacher. I now call Emma Harper to be followed by Douglas Ross. I welcome that Meghan Gallacher has secured this debate, and I note the degree and the detail in regards to Dr Grace and Kate Ness hospital that she described. I want to remind members that I am still a registered nurse and I was a former clinical educator who provided specific clinical education support for midwives in NHS Dumfries and Galloway. I agree with the member that it is important that I expect that mothers are able to deliver their babies as close to home as possible, but that must also be clinically safe and the right option in each case. As the minister will know, I have a number of challenges when it comes to maternity services in Wictonshire in Dumfries and Galloway, and I will focus on some of those. When mothers have to be transferred further from home to receive the best care for their baby, it is crucial that support is in place to enable parents to be at their baby's cotside as much as possible. I am aware that the Scottish Government is committed to improving maternity and neonatal services in Scotland to ensure that they provide the right care for every woman and baby and give all children the best start in life. We have heard in the previous debate that I sat through as well as tonight's debate. In 2015, maternity services underwent a national review through which the best start grant, a five-year forward plan for maternity and neonatal care in Scotland, was developed. In February 2017, the Scottish Government appointed the chief executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to lead the implementation programme board that will implement the five-year plan. Implementation of the best start programme was remobilised in May 2022 following a pause due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The plan for maternity and neonatal care in Scotland updates and builds upon neonatal care in Scotland, a quality framework published in March 2013. However, while I welcome this work, my constituents in Wictonshire are not able to deliver their baby locally at Galloway hospital in Stranraer. That means that many expect to mothers who are not able or who do not wish to give birth at home are required to travel 72 miles to Dumfries infirmary in order to deliver their babies. In 2011, the clinic birthing centre at the Galloway community hospital was operational as a community midwifery unit, providing low-risk midwifery-led impetrapartum care as a two-bedded facility. In 2018, due to the sustained and significant staff and pressures, the operational decision to temporarily suspend the birthing centre at clinic was taken by NHS De Fries and Galloway and the centre is still closed. Thanks to the campaigning from expectant mothers, the Galloway community hospital action group and others, NHS De Fries and Galloway commissioned a review of Wictonshire maternity services reported in July this year. The independent review of maternity services in Wictonshire has been published initially and the review has the support of the community maternity hub at Galloway community hospital. They wanted to see the community midwifery maternity hub returned at the hospital. The hub would provide an on-call interpartum midwifery unit. Lots of constituents have long campaigned for the return of a local midwifery service unit in Wictonshire. That includes the Galloway community hospital action group, which I have worked closely with and the previous Minister for Public Health met with the Galloway community hospital action group along with colleagues in Strunrar. I understand that, if the services to be resumed, that changes will be required in the current clinic birthing centre, including an upgrade in the facilities and equipment with projected cost of £103,000. The report says that staff will also require updated education in obstetric emergencies before maternity services can properly resume. Those recommendations are a step forward, and I thank everyone involved in carrying out the review. I acknowledge that the safety of mothers and babies is of paramount importance and that expert clinicians, doctors, midwifers and esotys must be involved not only for their clinical input but for them to be recruited and retained for the service delivery to be achieved safely and returned at Wictonshire. I congratulate my colleague Megan Gallagher for securing this important debate. I also welcome the campaigners from Wyshaw General Hospital, who are here for two important debates today and continue to fight for what they believe and I believe. I think that, hopefully, most of us in this chamber believe is the right outcome for them and the local area. I want to focus my remarks on Dr Gray's hospital and the maternity services there. I was astonished during the debate to hear the minister basically patting herself in the back to see how good things were now in Murray because we have this pledge to reinstate consultant-led maternity services by 2026. Let's just remember that they were first temporarily downgraded in 2018, and the Government want thanked for the fact that they may get back up and running by 2026. Crucially, the minister visited Elgin back in August just a few weeks ago. After the meeting, Kirsty Watson, whom I was in contact with last night and today ahead of this debate, and others in Keep Mum, are frustrated by the lack of progress. We are getting no answers from NHS Grampian. We are getting no answers from NHS Highland about how this consultant-led unit will be introduced. The responses from the minister, both on 24 August and in subsequent letters, is to say that everything is fine. Don't worry, this service will be back up and running. I can say, minister, that we are worried. We are desperately worried in Murray that there is no real progress being made, and it is having an impact. I want to use my time today to articulate in this chamber a very difficult birthing story, because I think that it's really important that the minister hears this, because this is happening to Murray Mums right now. It has been happening since 2018. In the past, in this chamber, I explained my own family's story, but this is one that I think should shock the minister and hopefully shock the Government into action. This mum spoke about her first baby being born in Dr Gray's in 2020, and the downgrade did worry the family about having another child, but they did, and things were going well. However, there were last-minute complications, and I'm just going to read exactly what the mum put into the public domain. I was told that I had to give birth in Aberdeen. On the morning that my contraction started, I phoned Dr Gray's and was advised to make my way through to Aberdeen ASAP as it was a second pregnancy, and because of that, they wouldn't turn me away. We drove through and I was contracting the whole way, which was horrible. When I arrived in Aberdeen and was examined in triage, I was told that I was only two centimetres, so we would need to go home as women labour best at home. The mum explained that she was from Elgin. It was a four-hour round trip, and it wasn't possible just to nip back home for the labour to continue. She then said that they then advised that we would need to book a hotel, as we couldn't stay at the hospital as they didn't have space, so we frantically tried to find a room to book and managed to get one just down the road from the hospital, but check-in wasn't until 3pm. By this point it was only 12pm. We asked if we could stay at the hospital for a few more hours, and we were told no. I was then contracting heavily in the hotel car park. My waters had gone and were leaking everywhere, and I was crying my eyes out, feeling so scared and uncomfortable. I phoned the hospital back around 2pm and explained that the contractions were a lot stronger and closer together and asked if I could come back in, but they said that they didn't have space for me, and I could only come back in at 3pm. So I waited another hour, and by the time I got into triage I was examined, I was 78 centimetres and my baby was born 30 minutes later. She finishes by saying that the whole experience was awful and felt inhumane. I had several panic attacks throughout and afterwards, and I still feel panicked when I think about it now. Minister, this is happening right now in Murray in Scotland, and it is unacceptable. It is inhumane, so we must ensure that consultant-led services are reinstated to Dr Greys as quickly as possible so that no more mothers and no more families have to suffer in the same way as this. Deputy Presiding Officer, can I remind members of my membership of the GMB Trades Union, which organises NHS workers? I suppose that, in the idiom of Douglas Ross, I ought to record that my wife is a serving trade union organiser for NHS workers. Can I also thank Megan Gallacher for bringing this important motion to Parliament? In so doing, she's shown a bright national parliamentary spotlight on a dark plan to centralise and downgrade nationally critical locally-based neonatal services. Like her, I'm especially concerned about the threat hanging over the neonatal intensive care unit at University Hospital Wishaw, which is proposed to be downgraded from level 3 to level 2. One midwife, an experienced one, Elsie Sneddon told me, I quote, and the minister, these are the clinical experts as well. She told me this would not just be a disaster for Lanarkshire but a disaster for Scotland. Greater Glasgow and Lothian patients are often transferred into Wishaw, so why take it away? Four weeks ago, I wrote to the cabinet secretary setting out some of these concerns. At the time, there were 10,000 local signatures on a public petition. There are now over 12,000 signatures on that petition. At that time, there had been no consultation with the public, no consultation with the trade unions, no consultation with anyone based in Lanarkshire and, shockingly, no consultation with families who have direct experience of the neonatal intensive care services at Wishaw. All of these weeks later, I have to report that there has still been no consultation, even though the proposed downgrade could have profound implications for patient safety. Even though every staff member I speak to who delivers these services tells me of their anxiety and concerns, for infection control and risk, for neurodevelopmental care and outcomes, for family-centred care, for staff retention and staff transfers, and for ambulance demand and capacity, there appears to have been no assessment of any of that, no equality impact assessment, no risk assessment, no assessment let alone an independent validation of the data sets used, no assessment of the co-location of specialist paediatric services on site at Wishaw, no assessment of the skills, training and irreplaceable institutional knowledge which is now at risk, no assessment of the impact this is now having on staff morale, no assessment of the human cost, no assessment. We are told to follow the evidence, but this whole exercise has lacked transparency. There is no breakdown of the waiting of the scores in the options appraisal report, widespread concern too that the statistics used are way out of date. Now, it's the Government's job to consider the best available evidence, so I say to the minister tonight, do not rely on the tables in this report, listen to the human stories of the lives which have been saved, the futures which have been won, the hope that has been given and do not extinguish that hope. Finally, there are risks in service redesign, risks in this so-called new model, in overcentralisation, risks in cutting the number of beds because that's what this means, risks in the downgrading of our local NHS services. If we haven't learned that over the last few years, we've learned nothing. It's time, minister, that you stepped in, stopped this plan, finally listened to the voices including those here tonight who need to be heard. This is the right thing to do, it's the only thing to do and that is what we are calling on you to do tonight. Thank you, Mr Leonard. I now call Green Simpson to be followed by Monica Lennon. Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I've listened to the previous debate and this debate with interest. The minister was not prepared to take any of my interventions earlier. I will take any of hers if she's prepared to make them because her contribution earlier was, in my view, tin-earred. She wasn't listening. I say to the minister, she has an opportunity, even now, to say that she will reconsider. She will pause this because she's won her vote earlier but it is not binding. She can change her mind. She could say as she closes this debate for the Government that she will reconsider and she will go back to the drawing board and that is exactly what she should do. I have to, of course, congratulate Megan Gallagher for securing this member's debate in the first place. It should not have been necessary. The plan to downgrade the neonatal intensive care unit in Wishaw has managed to provoke the ire of patients and staff and, as we've heard earlier, has attracted 12,000 signatures on a petition that the Government is apparently ignoring. It would see babies requiring specialist care, taking to Glasgow, Edinburgh or Aberdeen, from Scotland's third largest health board. The staff at Wishaw are not just among the best. They are the best. They are the best in the UK. Here's what one of them told me. Wishaw neonatal unit are currently a level 3 unit, successfully managing care for the babies of Lanarkshire, effectively, confidently and to a high standard. Our multi-disciplinary team won UK neonatal team of the year in 2023 and our care and success was evidenced on the tiny lives documentary. We successfully manage our workload with a highly competent and skilled team of staff. It's a concern that downgrading will mean that we should stabilise babies that we are skilled at caring for and transfer them to another hospital to the detriment of staff, babies and families. I query how this is child or family-centred care and propose its financially or politically motivated and based on inaccurate data. This has been a deeply flawed process. The Scottish Government consultation falls short of being fair and inclusive and it was in no way transparent. Decisions were made by the Scottish Government without representation from Lanarkshire on the board. No one from Lanarkshire. Other boards were fully represented. Why was that? Perhaps the minister can tell us that. She can intervene on me now and explain that. She doesn't want to intervene on me. NHS Lanarkshire representation on the perinatal subgroup involved in this was only there until 2019 before the options appraisal process started. There was no local representation after that. Data within the document is no longer relevant and was in fact relevant only in 2015. The scoring system used has been called into question. It weighed heavily on the ability to provide interventional care for rare congenital anomalies but most of these are picked up during pregnancy and plans put in place for delivery. However, Wishaw has specialist fetal medicine expertise for just this purpose. This move could, will have a dental detrimental effect on NHS Lanarkshire who could lose skilled staff to other areas. It's happening already. We heard that in the previous debate. You could see mums move to other hospitals. Having a sick baby is a hugely traumatic situation for any parent. We heard Mark Griffin speak movingly earlier on. It's completely senseless to move them from their local area. The support network of friends and family asked them to leave their other children if they have them when care is appropriate locally as it is. This isn't a plea or a campaign based on just wanting to keep something local for the sake of it. We're not saying this decision should be revisited because it sounds good. It's because it's the right thing to do for staff and crucially for mums, dads and their babies. The Government must think again and don't palm us off as the minister tried to do earlier with focus groups. That doesn't cut it. I thank Megan Gallacher for securing this debate and bringing everyone together tonight. I want to join her in paying tribute to all those campaigners and families in Caithness and Murray and indeed in Lanarkshire, which I will focus on in my remarks. I know that Megan Gallacher feels this very personally as a mum who just gave birth to her baby girl in Wishaw just last year. My daughter was born in the same hospital not last year but 17 years ago. A few years ago, Richard Leonard and I had a really lovely special visit to the hospital so that we could go there and meet staff and listen to them working in maternity and neonatal. On that visit to my surprise, I was reunited with my midwife and she gave me the biggest hug and I was just very humbled that she remembered me with a lovely chat. I mentioned in my speech earlier on that for those families who have had the experience in neonatal, it feels like family. They feel that there is genuine love and compassion and care and that continuity of care is really important. I made the mistake of sitting behind Mark Griffin earlier today. It was very moving. I agree with Graham Simpson and Mark and his family have been so open about their struggles. That has helped other families particularly in relation to the financial support that Mark has campaigned and helped to secure. However, we have heard a lot today about mitigation, the support that people might be able to get if this goes ahead. We can prevent this trauma from happening and that is the whole point here. Mark Griffin has had to leave for this debate. Rosa Niece picked up from rainbows tonight but I think we would all welcome that and we would not encourage her rainbows experience. The minister knows that I chaired the cross-party group on women's health. I am very passionate about women's health. I make no apology for that. However, I think that the points about the impact on women, the birth trauma that Douglas Ross has addressed, there are so many issues here that affect women but also dads, partners and family units. It can have lifelong impact. It does not need to be like that. I am quite jealous of Jenny Minters. She has probably got one of the best jobs in government to be the minister for public health and women's health. However, you are sitting there as a lonely figure tonight, minister, but we do not want you to be alone with this. We do not want you to be burdened with this terrible dilemma. People want to help. The people in the gallery want to help our communities. They know what they are talking about and they want to help. I would quite like Richard Leonard to be the minister that is looking at us because he went through things forensically. Those are the questions that ministers need to ask of civil servants and clinicians. We have to be forensic. We have to get to the bottom of this. I think that Carole Mawkin earlier on was very clear about this. She hit it on the head. Where is the transparency? Where are all the documents? NHS Lanarkshire was not even properly at the table. That is a point that the Royal College of Midwives have made in their briefings. There is not a lot of time left. I hope that they collect Stevenson and ask her business manager to get a proper debate in here. Parents in the gallery tonight have messaged me and said, what does this actually mean? What did that vote actually do? That vote was to endorse the downgrading. That is not what people want. We are going to live to regret this, minister. As we have heard from some of the families that have been mentioned throughout the afternoon, there can be significant long-term complications linked to prematurity and babies who need that neonatal care. Being able to go back to your local hospital and see those familiar faces to have that institutional knowledge that Richard Leonard talked about, money cannot buy that. It is a dark plan. That downgrading will be dangerous, but it is not too late, minister. We cannot stop it. What I wanted to ask when the minister did not take into his identity early on is, when did the minister last go to university hospital wish-show? When will she last visit the neonatal unit and speak to the staff and try to walk in the issues and try to understand because you cannot sit behind a desk or in this Parliament and write them off. Please listen. The award is winning for a reason. As we have already heard today, the Scottish Government appears determined to downgrade or even remove altogether vital maternity services across the whole of Scotland. Their actions, in some cases, is putting expectant mothers unnecessarily at risk, especially those living in rural communities such as my own in Galloway and West Dumfries. They often face lengthy journeys because there are no neonatal services close by. Born in A75 might sound like a dodgy rip-off of the classic kit by Bruce Springsteen, but sadly it is no laughing matter, because on this occasion it has become a reality with women having to give birth and lay-bys along the A75. Indeed, I know one child whose birth certificate lists her arrival as drumflower rodent Dunraget. That is simply unacceptable. I do not want to focus on the risk associated with A75, because I know that the paramedics and the midwives that accompany those mothers left with no option but to make the 70-mile journey provide the highest level of care, no matter where. However, we simply cannot continue to have the situation where one new mum said that she would have to travel 7,500 miles during her pregnancy to get maternity care. There are mothers who have told me that they would not have any more children because they could not face the uncertainty of the possibility of having to make those kind of journeys and the sort of journeys that Douglas Ross has described. The fact of the matter is that increasingly mothers to be are being denied the choice of where they can give birth. A normal natural physiological birth within their own community with their support network around them should not be denied to any women. Whether it be in Dumfries, Srinar or at home, they have the right to make that decision and are not dictated to because of a flawed management decision related to workforce decisions or downgrading maternity or neonatal services. The minister will be aware of the campaign to reinstate the midwife-led clinic birth centre in Srinar, a campaign led by mothers, elected members in the Galloway community hospital action group. It has resulted in an independently led review of maternity services in the west of Dumfries and Galloway. It was led by NHS Ayrshers in Ireland, Crawford at MacGuffey and Jennifer Wilson with the support of midwifery expert Angela Cunningham. The two proposals were drawn up, the existing model of a community maternity hub with home births and a second option, which also included planned on-call birthing for low-risk births at the Galloway community hospital's birth centre. The recommendation from this independent group was option 2, but, bizarrely and frustratingly, the IGB has not, as a matter of urgency, put in place the plans to deliver what this independent inquiry has recommended. I would call on all IGB members to do the right thing. The Scottish Government must support local NHS boards to improve work planning, retention and recruitment, particularly given the huge demands and are much valued midwifes, who now have increased responsibilities and require increased set of skills. That is required particularly in rural areas. Everyone wants the best care for mothers and babies, and the move to ensure that the smallest babies are looked after in centres that will have the right level of care is not disputed. However, the Royal College of Midwifery has voiced concerns surrounding the testing of the Government's model following the publication of the five-year forward plan on neonatal services, but we are in a very different world from 2017 when the best start was published both demographically and financially. The ethos of best start is care close to home and keeping moms and babies together and to individualise care around the needs of women. There are individual circumstances and family circumstances, and that is certainly not what has been offered in the west of my constituency. In conclusion, I want to stress again that fathers and mothers must be given a choice when it comes to giving birth. After all, this should be one of the most, if not the most precious moments in our lives. I thank all the members who have taken part in tonight's debate. The new model of neonatal intensive care recommended by the best start outlined that Scotland should move from the current model of eight neonatal intensive care units to a model of three units supported by the continuation of current NICUs, which is redesignated as local neonatal units. The evidence is clear that the highest-risk babies are more likely to survive when they are cared for in units by clinicians who see more of those babies and with access to specialist support services. The best start report was underpinned by evidence. Eight evidence reviews were and are detailed in the best start report led by Professor Mary Remfrew of the University of Dundee. Evidence is clear and set out in that report. I thank the minister for taking the intervention. She has heard repeatedly that the staff at Wishaw are performing to the highest level. They are the best in the United Kingdom. Her argument does not stack up. Even at this late stage, is she prepared to say that she will pause the decision and have a rethink? I thank the member for that intervention. I have been very clear that the decision was based and has been based on clinical evidence by clinical experts. That is evidence that we need to take account of. The babies who are born at less than 27 weeks gestation weigh less than 800 grams or who need multiple complex intensive care interventions or surgery. It should be understood that no neonatal units were closed and local neonatal units will continue to provide a level of neonatal intensive care for sick babies in their area. The care for the most preterm and sickest babies will receive their specialist complex care in one of our specialist NICUs and, importantly, return to their local area as soon as clinically appropriate. The process of determining which units should be providing neonatal intensive care followed an options appraisal process, which was undertaken by an expert group, including clinical leads and service user representatives. The model is supported by a range of stakeholders and clinicians, including Bliss, the leading charity for babies born, premature or sick, who recognise that the new model of care is based on strong evidence and will improve the safety of services for the smallest and sickest babies. What steps have you taken now that it is on your desk to go back and check that everything is in line the way it should be? You have talked about the importance of clinicians, but what have you done to make sure that there was no one missing from that discussion, because the information in my folder suggests that this process is flawed? I thank Monica Lennon for that intervention. When I came into post, I had a number of meetings with officials talking through this, and there was a review in 2022 of the decision of the outcomes that were made in 2019. As members will be aware, we currently have 15 incredible neonatal units in Scotland each providing invaluable care for babies in their area. That will continue under the new model of care. The best start recommended that the new model of neonatal care should be based on the British Association of Perinatal Medicine definitions of levels of care. Neonatal units in Nine Wiles and Dundee, the Princess Royal Maternity in Glasgow, Wishaw General, Victoria hospital in Kirkcaldy and Crosshouse hospital in Kilmarnock will continue to function as local neonatal units. As I said in the previous debate, shifting from a local neonatal unit has got more than a level 2 neonatal unit. I reassure members that, under the new model, the scope of practice that a local neonatal unit can undertake means that the vast majorities of babies who need neonatal care will still receive that locally. Local units will continue to provide a level of intensive care and will be able to care for all local babies born at greater than 27 weeks gestation. As members have highlighted today, the work that these units provide and will continue to provide is incredible, and hearing the words of parents who I have met and written to me detailing their experience has only reassured me that the care that we are providing to the most vulnerable babies is inspirational. I would like to take this second opportunity—I know that I would like to make some progress, thank you. I would like to take this second opportunity to congratulate Wishaw General's neonatal multidisciplinary team in being named the UK neonatal team of the year in 2023. I have also heard reference to Dr Gray's. If I can touch on that, Douglas Ross was correct. I visited Dr Gray's in Elgin in August. I was disappointed that Mr Ross was unable to join me at those meetings, because they were, from my perspective, very helpful, because I heard from Keith Mum and they were very clear in their concerns. As I said in that meeting, I was very clear that five years was too long for this to happen, which is why I am pleased that the plan has now been agreed in March between NHS Highland and NHS Grampian. When I met the boards, we discussed what progress was being made and, as Mr Ross will know, a project manager has been appointed. I would also like to point out that the Scottish Government has put £5 million to the refurbishment of Regmore and also £5 million to Dr Gray's, and I have written to both health boards requesting them to improve the timelines that they have said and to keep giving the Scottish Government more information. Is the minister giving way to Mr Ross? I am grateful to the minister for giving way. I was also disappointed that I could not meet her and I appreciated her officials contacting me and apologising for the late notice of the minister's visit to Elgin. However, we cannot just keep going round and round in circles and get more letters from the Government to the health board. The Government can instruct NHS Highland and NHS Grampian to ramp up their efforts, and there is real frustration that we are seeing little or no progress, and simply writing to them, urging them to do a bit more, is not cutting the mustard. Indeed, Keith Mum has said at the moment that they have little faith that our voices will be heard. Their voices are not being heard by the Government, NHS Grampian or NHS Highland, because, if they were, we would see far more action on the ground right now to reinstate full consultant-led maternity services at Dr Gray's. Minister, I thank Mr Ross for his intervention. As I understand it, there was enough time for you to look at when the meeting was happening. We had given you that notice earlier. I have been listening to Keith Mum, and I have been direct to the health board as to what I expect them to be doing. We are seeing no progress. I would like to make some progress, thank you. Also, Stranraer was mentioned by both Finlay Carson and Emma Harper. That midwife service was temporarily withdrawn because of staffing, and, as has been pointed out, there has been a review by Ayrshire and Arran, and the IGB is considering that at the end of September. I would like to make some progress, thank you. In reference to the petition that has been highlighted today, I appreciate that local people will have concerns about the announced changes. I would like to clarify that those changes will affect a small number of families in Lanarkshire, and I appreciate that any family affected is probably one that is very difficult to cope with. I also wanted to highlight a range of other features of the new model of neonatal care outlined in the best start. The new model of care positions parents firmly as partners in their baby's care. It includes expansion of transitional care, allowing mothers and babies who need some additional neonatal support to stay together in a postnatal ward, improve facilities and support for payments. Parents expanded neonatal community care, allowing babies to get home sooner. Members will be aware that we have begun to address the financial concerns of parents with babies in neonatal care with the expansion of the neonatal expenses fund, now known as the Young Patients Family Fund. The fund continues to help to support many parents with the cost of travel, meals and accommodation, while they are partners in the care of their babies. I suggest to Megan Gallacher that £8.50 is for meals, all travel is compensated in full. We are rolling out transitional care across Scotland and with all units on track to have this in place next year. In addition, all of our units are working towards implementation of the bliss baby charter with almost all units at silver or bronze level, two units having achieved gold standard and four more gold expected Minister, could I please ask you to bring your remarks to close? We will now work with all health boards affected to plan for and implement the service change over the course of the next year, informed by the testing that has been under way over the last few years. I would like to thank everyone who has taken time to speak with us to inform our picture of what more needs to be done to reassure both the parents and the staff within our neonatal community. I would like to thank all those who have worked with us to look at how we can best deliver the changes recommended by the best start report. Their experience is invaluable in forming our approach to date. It will continue to be invaluable as we take forward our work, ensuring that this Government does as much as we possibly can to support those requiring neonatal care in Scotland.