Cole-Hamilton writes to minister for third time over neonatal death spike

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has today written to the Scottish Government for a third time to call for ministers to answer questions in Parliament over a spike in the neonatal mortality rate – deaths within the first 28 days of life.

His call comes as five Scottish health boards were rated 'red' for neonatal mortality rates in the annual UK-wide evaluation known as MBRRACE, including a steep increase in the Grampian region.

Regions are red-flagged if their death rates are more than 5% higher than the UK average for their group. According to reports in The Herald, in 2022, five health boards in Scotland - Grampian, Lothian, Western Isles, Lanarkshire, and Borders - were 'red' for neonatal mortality once "congenital abnormalities", also known as birth defects, were excluded as a cause of death.

This is up from one in both 2020 and 2021, and is the highest at any point since 2017.

Sarah Stock, a professor in maternal and foetal health at Edinburgh University, previously told the Herald that it was “entirely plausible” that short-staffing and pandemic pressures had played a part in a spike in deaths.

In December, Alex Cole-Hamilton wrote to the Public Health Minister, Jenni Minto, over delays to a pair of reports into a spike in the number of deaths of children under the age of one. You can read more about that here.

A report by Healthcare Improvement Scotland was eventually published on 27th Feb 2024 and indicated that a more comprehensive reviews of neonatal deaths was needed. On 16th April, Mr Cole-Hamilton wrote to the minister again urging the Scottish Government to schedule time for parliament to discuss this report.

Mr Cole-Hamilton has now written to the minister for a third time to request parliamentary scrutiny of these events.

His letter is as follows:

Dear Jenni,

You will have seen reporting by The Herald highlighting that five Scottish health boards have been rated 'red' for neonatal mortality rates.

There can be few more acute priorities for a government and its ministers than uncovering why the death rate among newborn babies has spiked.

The government’s response so far has been tepid and evasive.

I am writing to you to request a statement to parliament by either yourself or the Health Secretary setting out how your government will respond to these reports and for opposition parties to have the chance to scrutinise the government’s actions.

Alongside filing written parliamentary questions, this is now the third time I have written to you requesting that the Scottish Government answer questions in public on this matter.

I have previously suggested that additional resources may be necessary for the Healthcare Inspectorate to deliver its work to the high standard that parents would expect. Is this an idea that the government is open to exploring?

Will you agree with your party’s business manager to schedule a statement on this matter as soon as parliament returns from its summer recess?

I await your reply,

Yours sincerely,

Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP

Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats