By Ross Thomson

Copyright dailyrecord

A Scottish Parliament Committee has met with local families and staff at University Hospital Wishaw’s specialist baby unit, as it considers a petition calling for a halt to plans to centralise neonatal intensive care services. The petition PE2099: Stop the proposed centralisation of specialist neonatal units in NHS Scotland is currently being considered by the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee. MSPs from the Committee met petitioner Lynne McRitchie and families whose newborns received care at Wishaw’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), before touring the site and holding meetings with staff. This visit was held to support the Committee’s information gathering as part of its work on the petition. Lynne, who works in the voluntary sector and lives in East Kilbride with her husband and two children, was moved to act following her own experience with the neonatal service at Wishaw. Her son, Innes, was born prematurely at 23 weeks and spent 119 days in Wishaw’s NICU. Lynne said: “He’s now six and an absolute force to be reckoned with, but those first days were hugely stressful and very scary. “My other son, Callum, was four at the time, so juggling his care and wellbeing, with being present in hospital was difficult and I had real concerns about being able to bond with my new baby, whilst still being present for Callum, who understood his new brother was seriously ill, but too young to understand why I wasn’t around at home. “We lived relatively close by – I can’t imagine the challenge had Innes had to be transferred further afield – which is what would happen now under these new plans to downgrade Wishaw.” The petition, which was first considered by the Committee in September last year, has more than 2,000 signatures. Lynne added: “Having a baby in neonatal care is one of the most challenging and vulnerable times a family can face. We are hopeful this visit has given the Committee an opportunity to hear the real-life stories of the impact these proposals would have on families across Scotland.” Another concerned parent, Michelle Smith, spoke out after her son Owen was cared for by the NICU staff. Michelle said: “Owen was born at 31 weeks and weighed under just under one kilo. “He went straight to the NICU. He had to be fed through a tube and it was heart-breaking. “But the staff were absolutely great with Owen. Without the care he received, Owen would not be here. “The nurses were there to help us feeding him. Owen was our first born and he was so small so we weren’t sure of ourselves but they kept us right. “Given that Wishaw serves such a huge area it seems to me that downgrading it would be a huge mistake.” Committee Convener, Jackson Carlaw, thanked all the parents and staff who were at the event. He said: “Hearing directly from those involved in the issues raised in this petition was hugely valuable and I’m grateful to the families and staff who gave up their time to meet with us. “We will now reflect on what we have heard and will formally discuss what action we will take at a future meeting of the Committee in Parliament.” The Scottish Government published The Best Start: A five-year forward plan for Maternity and Neonatal Care in Scotland in 2017. One of its key recommendations was to centralise specialist services by reducing the number of neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) from eight to three. University Hospital Wishaw would be amongst the hospitals to see its NICU downgraded to Level Two, meaning babies born earlier than 27 weeks would be transferred to units in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow. In a letter to the Committee on September 1, Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health, Jenni Minto, said: “We have continued to be proactive in listening to the concerns of both the clinical teams and the public throughout Scotland and what is clear from the clinical community is an agreement that the new model of neonatal care will give the smallest and sickest babies in Scotland the best chance of survival.” *Don’t miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here . And did you know Lanarkshire Live had its own app? Download yours for free here .