NHS Highland is pleased to announce the launch of a new initiative to support pregnant women traveling from Caithness to Inverness for childbirth.
Recognising the challenges faced by expectant mothers during long journeys, a comprehensive new map of accessible toilet stops that are happy to welcome soon-to-be mums, has been created to help ensure comfort and convenience.
Karen Mackay, Infant Feeding Lead at NHS Highland, worked in collaboration with more than 30 local businesses, police stations, and fire stations to put together list of supportive businesses along the route.
The new map harnesses the power of Google Maps to highlight all of the participating toilet stops along the route to Inverness, providing an at a glance resource for pregnant women who may need frequent breaks during their journey.
Karen Mackay said: “We all understand the difficulties that pregnant women can face during long journeys, especially when frequent stops are necessary. This map is designed to provide reassurance and support, ensuring that expectant mothers have access to as many facilities as possible.
“We want to make things as comfortable and be as supportive as we can and this is just one easy way we thought we could help. We’re incredibly grateful to all the businesses and emergency services that have come together to make this possible. We are delighted with the level of support we received from the community and people were really eager to participate to help ease the journey for expectant families."
Gill Valentine, Associate Director of Midwifery for NHS Highland (Highland Council area), said: “We are committed to providing high-quality healthcare services to communities across the Highland area. There is no doubt that there are geographic challenges, as there have always been, but this initiative is just one example of where we can use modern technology, to make things a little bit easier.”
Gill also said the project, which has been viewed more than 1,000 times so far, has already inspired other health boards in Scotland to introduce similar schemes.