From the Scottish Government site today:
‘Parents of premature and sick newborn babies will receive help meeting the additional costs they face as a result of their baby being in hospital with the introduction of a new £1.5 million fund. From 1 April, the Neonatal Expenses Fund will be available to all parents to support them to spend as much time with their babies as possible, while they are receiving care within a neonatal unit. The fund will help more than 8,000 families a year with travelling, parking and subsistence costs.’
https://news.gov.scot/news/neonatal-care-fund
This initiative comes after recognition, in the Herald (!):
On January 24th, 2018, under the headline:
‘SNP Government doing ‘far better than Westminster’ on child health’
we read:
‘DOCTORS have praised the Scottish Government for doing “far better than Westminster” on child health policies such as breastfeeding and tackling childhood obesity, but warned that urgent action is still needed in areas such as GP training and reviewing child deaths. A report by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health scored Scotland, England and Wales on their performance against a series of key recommendations a year on from a landmark report by the professional body.’
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15889305.SNP_Government_doing__far_better_than
True to form, the Herald did, of course, find a way to undermine the good news with a link to some out-of-date, apparently bad, news on the same topic. If you want, see:
Watch Herald report good news on child health for Scotland and then…..
Perhaps more important, the Neonatal Expenses Fund and the Neonatal Transport Service (see above) show a determination to build on the extremely good news reported here:
Of course, before I go, there is also this:
The last line above, times 3.
Alert: BBC Scotland appear to credit Labour party for the initiaive at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-43595992
Talking-up Scotland 