We will stop once Ms Webber has spoken to her amendments.

You can take Mr FitzPatrick’s intervention—I am not here to stifle debate.

The committee received an update letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care last week or the week before, I think. That is on the committee’s website, so you might wish to familiarise yourself with that.

I remind members of my entry in the register of members’ interests: I hold a bank nurse contract with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

I am sure that many of us were deeply moved by the experiences that were shared on the recent BBC “Disclosure” programme on maternity and neonatal services. The families who have chosen to share their stories in recent weeks have shown an almost unimaginable courage and resilience. The loss of a baby or child is a pain beyond any of our worst fears.

When the health secretary made a statement to the Parliament last week, after the publication of the report into acute maternity services at the Royal infirmary of Edinburgh and the airing of the “Disclosure” documentary, he shared his family’s experience and his deep personal gratitude to the maternity staff for their care. I know that that gratitude will be shared by many in the chamber. The subject is incredibly emotive and sensitive and will have deeply personal resonance for most members, whether in relation to themselves, their family or loved ones.

Before my election to the Parliament, I specialised for around 15 years in perinatal mental health, so I am only too aware that, although the period around a birth can be one of the most exciting times in a family’s life, it can sometimes be the most challenging—all the more so when events do not go to plan. When that happens, our hard-working maternity care midwives, nurses, support staff, doctors and clinicians do an incredible job in offering families compassionate and supportive care.

In my 30-plus years of clinical practice, there has been significant progress in many areas, including reducing infant mortality. Neonatal deaths and stillbirths reached their lowest level in 2024. In September, NHS Lanarkshire, which provides care to many of my constituents, won the Health Service Journal award for maternity and midwifery services initiative of the year, for its innovation, expertise and unwavering commitment to patient safety. That followed the launch of its holistic antenatal care pathway to provide women with optimal care and evidence-based interventions to reverse an increasing rate of stillbirth that the board had noted during the pandemic.

I remind members that I am a practising nurse in the NHS.

The poll to which Mr Halcro Johnston referred also shows that 88 per cent of people believe that healthcare should be free. The Tories and Labour have been all too happy to carve out the NHS in England to private companies. Will the cabinet secretary reaffirm that this SNP Government will always protect the founding principles of the NHS, which are that it is publicly owned and free at the point of need—

I have to correct Meghan Gallacher on that point. It has been said that the unit is closing—that misinformation has been spread. I accept that she might not have said that, but that has been reported.

I will come on to that point at the end of my speech.

Any death or injury in maternity and neonatal services is one too many, is an absolute tragedy and must be followed by a period of reflection and learning.

The SNP Scottish Government is committed to learning from every case, in order to improve care, strengthen safety and support families. That is why the HIS inspection reports are being undertaken and will be reviewed by Scotland’s new maternity and neonatal task force. As the health secretary acknowledged last week, some of the reports might make difficult reading for health boards and the Government, which has agreed that a national investigation into service design and delivery should take place if the task force recommends it.

Around 56,000 Scots have the word “Rutherglen” on their birth certificates. From 1979 to 1998, Rutherglen maternity hospital operated as a stand-alone maternity hospital on Stonelaw Road in my constituency. Many people in Rutherglen, Cambuslang, Halfway, Blantyre and East Kilbride have fond memories of welcoming a new addition to their families in Rutherglen maternity. I worked there during my nurse training, and my oldest son was born in the hospital. The care that mothers and babies received there is still viewed with fondness and high regard by many, who held genuinely and sincerely strong feelings about the news of its closure.

Unfortunately, things did not always go according to plan. Over the years, I have heard of occasions when an emergent issue, such as a cardiovascular or neurological incident, meant that a patient had to be rushed to another hospital in Glasgow to access more specialist care, sometimes just in time to save their life. The decision to eventually close Rutherglen maternity, which was instigated under a Tory Administration and completed under a Labour Administration, ultimately hinged on its stand-alone status.

The clinical experts’ view at the time was that, when there were difficulties or complications, acute hospital services and a full range of further specialist support should be available on site. It was the health board’s view that, when highly complex and specialist neonatal surgery or complex neonatal paediatric care were required, there were clear safety benefits to co-location with main centres of excellence.

I fully appreciate that it is a highly emotive topic for many families today, just as it was 27 years ago. However, it is extremely disappointing that the same points against that very clear and direct argument have recently been rehashed by some Opposition politicians, and that misinformation has circulated in the media about Scotland’s current neonatal service model.

As the health secretary made crystal clear to the Parliament last week, no neonatal units are closing and, where care is being consolidated, it is for the very smallest and sickest babies—in three specialist units—so that those babies have the absolute best chance of survival.

The new model of neonatal intensive care was recommended by the “Best Start” report in 2017, following robust clinical evidence—which the Government would be heavily criticised for not following—on what the safest and best possible model for the sickest babies should be. Together, we must reaffirm our shared and utmost priority—that the safety and wellbeing of mothers and babies is paramount.

—and will he ensure that it remains well funded and prepared to meet the requirements of all who use it?

The question is, that amendment 220 be agreed to. Are we agreed?

Members: No.

The result of the division is: For 3, Against 7, Abstentions 0.

Amendment 220 disagreed to.

Amendment 221 moved—[Pam Duncan-Glancy].