at special baby unit

TINY, VERY sick babies filled all the cots in the neonatal unit at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, last week, writes Marjory Inglis, health reporter.

It meant the unit could not take babies from elsewhere as cots around the country were filling up.

A woman who gave birth in the early hours of Friday was diverted 250 miles from Aberdeen Royal Infirmary to Teeside, reportedly because not a single Scots hospital could offer a speciality neonatal care bed.

A spokeswoman for NHS Tayside said yesterday, “We were unable to accept patients from outside Tayside last week as all our cots were full.”

She said it continued on Wednesday and Thursday, adding, “No requests from elsewhere were received during this time.”