Fulton MacGregor
Scottish National Party · Scotland
“Deputy Presiding Officer, you will know that I am interested in that, as you are. We were both members of the Criminal Justice Committee in the previous session of Parliament. Evidence shows that community-based sentences are effective in reducing reoffending.”
“Scotland’s prison population continues to rise despite our having the lowest number of recorded crimes, and the average custodial sentence length increased by 37 per cent between 2014-15 and 2023-24. That is all having an impact on capacity in our prisons.”
“Scotland’s prison population is at a critical point. As the motion demonstrates, the Scottish Government recognises the importance of the issue and is taking action through sustained investment, careful planning and a clear focus on public safety. The 2026-27 budget includes investment of £1 billion in Scotland’s prisons.”
“It builds on the investment of £25 million over the previous two years. I also welcome the cabinet secretary’s remarks on reviewing community justice. However, the evidence is already clear. Statistics show that people who are released from custody experience higher rates of reconviction than those who receive non-custodial sentences.”
“Given that it is unaffordable, there would be an almighty battle to deliver it, if that could happen at all. The issue is about having a credible plan, with the timescales that we have to date, to deliver for the benefit of the people of Lanarkshire and people elsewhere in Scotland, with that shift in the balance of care.”
“At what point did the Scottish Government deem that the cost outlined in the business case was too high? What discussions did it have with NHS Lanarkshire to try to resolve issues earlier?”
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“I could say a great deal more, but I will end by asking the cabinet secretary to explain, in closing, where the heat in buildings bill is. What has been happening to it since November, when it was supposed to be introduced, and when we will see it? 16:33”
“I can look at the price that the flat that I live in would sell for today and find out what a mortgage would cost, and I can compare that with what it would cost to rent that self-same flat. People who are forced to rent their home in the private rented sector are paying significantly more for less. They do not get full control of the property, nor do they get the uplift in the property value over time, yet they are paying back the private debt of the landlord, who is able to service a repayment mortgage—not just an interest mortgage—by exploitative and extractive levels of rent. That is the rent that people are being forced to pay in communities up and down the country. That should end, and the Government’s desire to connect rent control areas to above-inflation rent increases will entirely defeat the purposes of that initiative.”
“The issue of energy pricing, which I will come back to, is one of the really positive areas where the opportunity could be there if both Governments seize it. If the UK Government changes the approach to regulating energy prices and the Scottish Government accelerates the transition away from fossil fuels for both heat and transport, we will have a win-win situation. Those who have supported making that transition will find that it is cheaper to do so, and Governments will find it more possible to provide support with that. I want to unpack some other issues a little further. On the subject of rent, I mentioned Ben Macpherson’s speech, and he was quite right to say that the issue is about the long-term increase in housing costs. That has gone on for decades. Any one of us can go online right now and find out about it.”
“The overwhelming reason for that is that far too much power is in the hands of the private sector and the billionaire class—the kind of people who run industries for their own benefit and stash the proceeds in tax havens. There was a campaign that used the slogan “Take back control” just a few years ago. I wish to goodness that we had Governments in this country that were willing to take back control from the billionaires, because that would be far more successful in achieving benefit for the public and for the standard of living of most people than the actions that have been taken. Several members have talked about the potential for co-operation that exists. There is, I hope, potential for co-operation between the Scottish and UK Governments.”
“There is no reason to sustain or continue the artificial link between gas prices and electricity prices in the UK, which several members have referred to. It is an entirely artificial construct of the way in which the energy market is regulated in the UK, and even those who switch to renewable electricity—which is the cheapest form of energy to generate—do not get the benefit of that cheap generation in the bills that they pay. As for those who recognise that we are behind where we should be and that we are running behind schedule on climate, but who think that the response should be to slow down action, that is simply at odds with reality. When we are running behind schedule, the only rational response is to speed up. Yes, it must be a just transition, and, no, so far it has not been.”
“The climate emergency is another part of the global context for our debates. Everyone who has spent even five minutes understanding the science will get the very clear need to end our reliance on fossil fuels. The cost of living crisis of recent years was sparked off by a fossil fuel crisis when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced this country and other European countries to recognise and acknowledge their overreliance on fossil fuels. That is true not only for the countries that imported gas directly by pipeline from Russia, because that wholesale market set the prices even for those who produce gas domestically. The invasion of Ukraine impacted the fossil fuel economy for everyone, including people in this country.”
“That threat goes beyond any specific measures that they may take, such as kicking off a trade war, harmful though that clearly will be and destructive and unnecessary though it is. The threat is to do with the fact that they, and the billionaire class that they serve, are now pretty open that they regard the continued plundering of the world’s resources as being fundamentally incompatible with democracy. I have believed that for a long time, but the super-rich who want to continue that plunder are now having to face up to it, and they will choose plunder rather than democracy on every occasion. That is the scale of the threat that we are facing. If we want to have even a decent chance of democracy surviving and want to give people a reason to believe in it, a fair redistribution of wealth is urgently needed.”
“16:26 Patrick Harvie: A number of members have focused clearly on the impact that the issues that we are debating have had on their constituents, and a number, from a range of political perspectives, have done their best to place this debate in a wider global context. I will single out Ben Macpherson’s speech, which most successfully combined the global context with the long-term, multidecade context that some of the pressures have come from while focusing clearly on the practical impact of those issues on our constituents. Part of the global context comes from the multiple threats that are posed at the moment by authoritarian regimes such as those of Trump and Putin.”
“Thankfully, in 2007, the incoming SNP Government put a stop to any new PFI contracts in Scotland or the situation would be even more bleak. I appreciate that I must close. We heard a lot of promises during the UK general election campaign last year but, in record time, we have seen that those promises were worth very little when Labour had the power to act on them. The mitigating steps that the Scottish Government has taken once again underline the need for Scotland to have total control over its own policies and finances and we all know that the only way to do that is through independence. The Deputy Presiding Officer: We move to the winding-up speeches.”
“In North Lanarkshire next year, more than £31 million— which is more than a quarter of the total amount of council tax that the council expects to receive—will be spent on PFIs. That figure represents only one year of paying for PFI contracts, which shows that the total amount of money spent on those contracts since their introduction is truly astronomical. Ultimately, North Lanarkshire Council will pay back £729 million for schools that had build costs of just a fraction of that amount. Two of those are in my constituency: the joint campus schools of Bargeddie and St Kevin’s and of Our Lady and St Joseph’s and Glenboig. Incredibly, North Lanarkshire Council is already having to build new schools for St Kevin’s and Glenboig, although they opened less than 20 years ago.”
“I have mentioned the list of failures that people across Scotland have seen in less than a year, but one of Labour’s most damaging legacies is the private finance initiative, or PFI. Although those contracts were introduced under the Tories in the 1990s, they continued under successive Labour Governments and were discontinued only in 2018. Media reports now indicate that the chancellor is considering reintroducing them, so it is worth remembering the financial black hole that PFI contracts have inflicted on councils. Last month, Labour-run North Lanarkshire Council set its budget for the year ahead and agreed on a 10 per cent increase in council tax. However, a huge proportion of council taxes go towards paying for those PFI contracts.”
“Fulton MacGregor: What I do not support is the hike in national insurance. As my colleague Willie Coffey pointed out to Paul O’Kane, it is our money—we are not getting any favours from the UK Government. It is our money, and it is only a fraction of what we should be getting. I urge Labour to reconsider its decision on national insurance, which has the potential to cause serious lasting damage to Scotland’s economy. Just today, I heard from the general manager at Clarke Fire Protection Products in Coatbridge, which is a very good business. She confirmed that the measures have affected her company’s pay reviews. She told me that the bottom line is that there is simply not as much money in the pot to share with employees—again, it is workers who are paying the price.”
“Although Labour came to power on the promise of no tax rises for working people, its decision to hike employer national insurance contributions has forced businesses to face impossible choices between cutting jobs, reducing hours, cutting wages, absorbing the costs or passing some of the burden to consumers in the form of higher prices. The Scottish Government estimates that the increase will cost businesses £850 per employee. Paul O’Kane: I have been trying to ascertain something from SNP members for some time. They have £5.2 billion extra for the Scottish budget as a result of the budgetary decisions that the UK Government has taken, but they do not support a single measure in the UK budget. What would Fulton MacGregor have done differently if it was not to be the national insurance increase?”
“We now know that almost a third of a million women in Scotland might have been affected by the Department for Work and Pensions error that meant that they were not notified of changes that concerned them. Labour backed the WASPI campaign, promised justice and supported campaigners but, again, as soon as the Labour Government attained office, the campaigners and those affected were simply left behind. Bill payers, parents and pensioners have been negatively affected since Labour took office, but do not worry, Presiding Officer: business owners have not been left out or ignored.”
“That move goes further than even the Tories went, and it has impacted nearly 1 million people in Scotland. I say to my Labour colleagues that it has not gone down well at all, with many constituents telling me in the days and weeks that followed the decision that, first, they could not quite believe the level of betrayal and, secondly, that they were very much regretting their vote. I think that Labour members know that to be the case. Of course, again, the Scottish Government has stepped up to the plate and has, yet again, mitigated that unfair policy with the pension age winter heating payment. Some pensioners have also been affected by the Labour UK Government’s decision to reject the independent recommendation on compensation for the women against state pension inequality— the WASPI women.”
“We live in one of the most energy-rich regions of Europe yet, under the UK Government, we are also paying some of the highest electricity costs in Europe—the word “ironic” does not even begin to cover it. Last summer, Anas Sarwar promised voters that Labour MPs would scrap the two-child cap; instead, they voted to keep it, choosing to keep thousands of Scottish children in poverty. The budget that the Parliament recently passed was once again required to take mitigatory measures to shield those who are most vulnerable from economically punitive Westminster policies. Last summer, we were told by Labour that our pensioners would be supported and that no austerity would be introduced. Instead, the winter fuel payment was scrapped in record time as soon as Labour took power.”
“In the past 12 months, it has helped residents from across my constituency to access approximately £4.6 million-worth of benefits—that is money going back into the local area. The people whom that hard-working organisation helps are feeling stretched and are unsure what their financial future holds. The organisation, like so many others, is also feeling the strain, having just been rejected for grant funding from North Lanarkshire Council. During the UK general election campaign last year, we heard a lot of promises. Last summer, we heard that Labour would cut energy bills by £300, but the energy price cap is about to rise for the third time, bringing the total increase to nearly £300.”
“The debate has taken place in the shadow of continued sustained pressures on the finances of all those who live in Scotland. The cost of living crisis, which we first had to contend with under a Tory Government, has continued with the newly elected Labour Government. The optimism that came with removing the Tories after 14 years of failure has quickly been replaced by a realisation that, those in power at Westminster, no matter what colour of rosette they are wearing, represent a harmful austerity agenda and seemingly endless cost of living crises for the people of Scotland. I have no doubt that every member who is in the chamber today hears weekly the concerns of constituents who are struggling to make ends meet. Just yesterday, I met representatives from Hope 2 Help, which is a Coatbridge-based voluntary organisation.”
“We will continue to work in partnership with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and with local authorities to make sure that local authority finances are sustainable and that communities across Scotland continue to receive the high-quality front-line services that they expect and deserve. The Deputy Presiding Officer: That concludes portfolio questions. There will be a brief pause before we move to the next item of business to allow members on the front benches to change seats. United Kingdom Economy”
“I welcome the record level of funding for local authorities in this year’s budget, which passed last week with cross-party support. Will the minister outline how that will support local authorities across Scotland to increase and improve services for their communities, in contrast with the 30 councils in England that are in dire need of a total of £1.5 billion of emergency funding for 2025-26 just to keep them afloat? Shona Robison: That £1.5 billion in emergency funding is the Tory legacy for local government funding. The local government finance settlement provides local authorities with an additional £1.1 billion in funding, which is a real-terms increase of 5.5 per cent, along with full discretion over council tax.”
“To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to further support Gaelic at a local level, in light of the announcement of North Lanarkshire’s first ever local Mòd, which will take place this September. (S6O-04385)”
“It brings together key stakeholders including representatives of social work, the police, health, education and local authorities, as well as expert practitioners, charities, researchers and academics.”
“Although the inquiry is still under way, work to improve the protection of children in Scotland should remain on-going. Can the cabinet secretary provide an update on the new national child sexual abuse and exploitation strategic group and its work to support survivors and prevent exploitation? Kate Forbes: We are working closely with partners to deliver a co-ordinated multi-agency response to prevent child sexual abuse and exploitation in all its forms. In recognition of the need to go further, we have established a new strategic group to provide national leadership and further improve the shared response in Scotland to child sexual abuse and exploitation. The group last met in December, and it is due to meet again in the coming weeks.”
“The First Minister: The support for Ukrainian families in Scotland will come from a combination of the community support that Mr MacGregor’s constituency will have offered, the support that Emma Harper has just mentioned in her question and the work that is being undertaken by the Scottish Government and our partners. That support has always been important, but it is ever more important, given the uncertainties that the people of Ukraine feel at the moment.”
“The First Minister will be aware that a large number of Ukrainian families fleeing the war have been resettled in North Lanarkshire, with many being housed in refurbished tower blocks in Coatbridge in my constituency. As they are my constituents, my thoughts are very much with them at this unsettling time, and I have written to them this week to remind them that they can contact me in my office at any time. Can the First Minister outline what on-going support is in place to ensure that those families, and the thousands like them across the country, continue to be supported in our communities and feel the strength of our unwavering solidarity at this most difficult time?”
“The motion was lodged to recognise and commend the steady commitment that forum members have made to their community for as long as I have been an MSP, which is coming up for nine years now. The forum has far too many members for me to mention all their names, but they include Isobel Kelly, Alice Morton, Cathy McGinty and Brandon Williams. I reiterate the need to ensure that planners take rural communities into account, especially when such communities experience rapid and unprecedented population growth in what are mostly urban areas. 17:40”
“I will be interested to hear the minister’s response to some of those concerns, either in summing up or in writing at a later date. The work and diligence of the members of the forum have already resulted in petitions being taken through the Parliament, correspondence with ministers, round tables, meetings with the planning improvement champion, motions recognising forum members’ civic leadership, and now a debate here in the Holyrood chamber. It is fair to say that they have engaged with nearly every civic lever available to them, in the Parliament and beyond. I again thank members of the NCCF for compiling the report, which has given a voice to people in the northern corridor who care about their neighbourhoods.”
“Ways could be sought to give community boards more powers to raise their concerns. Those boards have specialised local knowledge of their communities, and their views should certainly be valued when decisions are being made. Although the report’s recommendations are specific in their nature, it all boils down to ensuring that residents of communities are given the opportunity to have a meaningful say in how their communities are developed. We all know that further development is necessary in light of an increasing Scottish population, but we must find a way to address the concerns of many people in rural areas that development will be imposed on smaller communities with little to no consultation. The Scottish Government and local authorities need to address that sentiment in future planning.”
“I know that residents in the northern corridor will be keenly interested to hear how the Scottish Government will take on board the report and give reassurances to the communities that their views will be listened to when future planning decisions are made. Steps such as introducing provisions for pre-development community asset and infrastructure audits when an area is identified as being able to accommodate large-scale urban growth would encourage sustainable growth with minimal effects on existing communities. Likewise, introducing protections for areas that are considered by their communities to be high-value scenic assets and to be at risk from the merging of communities would safeguard areas that are prized by their residents and would ensure that they are not lost.”
“It is second nature to address those issues in established towns, but not so much for areas that, on paper, appear to be a handful of villages. Late last year, we learned that Scotland’s population is rising at the highest rate since the 1940s. Higher populations will require more infrastructure, more facilities and more thoughtful planning. Although the motion concerns one specific area of one specific local authority, it is important for members from all constituencies and regions to engage in the processes to ensure that their views are heard about the direction in which they would like their communities to go. The points that I have touched on today are issues that I am sure other members have dealt with in their regions, and I look forward to hearing further contributions from my colleagues across the chamber.”
“The number of crossing points and roads around villages may be adequate for lower populations, but a lack of crossing points has made the corridor more hazardous for pupils and other pedestrians in the area during congested times around school hours. The number of buses that serve the area would be sufficient for a rural region, but the services are currently very much lacking for a region with nearly 30,000 people. Those are three transport-related issues and, in order for anything to change, they would require lengthy discussions with separate bodies. They are all issues that I have advocated for on behalf of my constituents—and that is not even touching on the amount of similarly intricate cases that I have taken regarding the provision of health, education and leisure centres and facilities.”
“The reality is that the region is now one of the fastest-growing areas in the central belt, and planning must consider the corridor as a single entity, instead of a patchwork of rural villages. It is that point that perhaps causes the most frustration in the communities. I will not list each individual infrastructural and facility-based complaint that the forum has raised over the years; for residents, there is the draining experience of having to contact a myriad of bodies each time they feel that there is a problem that needs to be addressed. For example, one accessible train station may be acceptable for a small network of villages, but not for a rapidly growing region of urban sprawl.”
“That makes the corridor home to more people than those reported to be living in places such as Bellshill, Kilsyth or Shotts, and it gives a population comparable with that of Wishaw or even Motherwell. However, by the very nature of being a collection of villages, unlike the previously mentioned towns, the corridor does not have a physical town centre, which means that there is a lack of town models, action plans or strategies for the northern corridor as a whole. For members of the forum and other residents in the area, there is a feeling that their areas often fall through the cracks. On paper, their homes are part of a network of villages, and the amenities and infrastructure reflect that.”
“Ultimately, the report concludes that communities across the northern corridor have been and will continue to be overwhelmed by a series of negative impacts that arise from overdevelopment and associated population increases. I wish to express on the record that the report was keen to stress that the NCCF is not averse to increased housing development in the area. However, it has consistently raised its concerns over the sustainability of increased housing development and the effect that it will have on the communities, which I am sure we can all relate to. To examine some of the concerns of the NCCF, we can scrutinise census data from 2021. It was reported that the total population of the collection of villages that make up the northern corridor was just short of 30,000 people.”
“Last year, the northern corridor community forum compiled a report, which sought to investigate and analyse data related to housing, education, infrastructure, amenities and transport, and how the various areas may be facing pressures in the face of rapid population growth across the corridor. This evening, I will comment on the conclusions of the report and on the sentiments of the constituents who live along the northern corridor. To some, this debate might seem parochial, but it is the duty of every MSP to represent their constituents and ensure that their voices are heard here in their Parliament. The issues that the NCCF raises are similar issues to those on which colleagues across Scotland might receive correspondence if they represent a constituency or region that has experienced rapid population growth.”
“I thank all the members across the Parliament who supported my motion, which has allowed it to be discussed in the chamber this evening. The topic of the debate concerns a region in North Lanarkshire that covers about one third of my constituency of Coatbridge and Chryston. The several small towns and villages in the area, which include Stepps, Muirhead, Chryston, Auchinloch, Moodiesburn, Mollinsburn, Glenboig and Gartcosh, are collectively referred to as the northern corridor. The northern corridor community forum is an organisation of people in the area who share their time, skills, expertise and knowledge in an ethos of mutual support among all community organisations across the region.”
“As I have set out, I consider it to be of paramount importance that we ensure that those kinds of experiences are not repeated. That is why I have asked HIS and the Mental Welfare Commission to carry out a series of visits and to recommend what is required to ensure the quality and safety of our CAMHS in-patient units, now and into the future.”
“No young person should have to endure what the brave young people who featured in the Skye house documentary underwent. I commend them for coming forward. Will the minister outline how those young people are currently being supported in the aftermath of the incidents, and how NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde will be fully equipped to ensure that such incidents never occur again? Maree Todd: I absolutely agree with my colleague that young people should be able to expect a high standard of care and treatment in our mental health services. I understand that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is actively engaging with the families of those who were highlighted in the programme to discuss their experiences and to provide answers to any additional questions that they might have.”
“Recent reviews in the rest of the UK have shown similar trends, which require radical interventions. The Scottish Government’s increased justice allocation in the proposed budget underlines the SNP’s commitment to keeping Scotland safe. 15:53”
“I am fully aware that the funding increases are being made at the same time as the Labour UK Government is changing employer national insurance contributions, which, unless the UK Government commits to a full funding of the potential shortfalls, could cost the justice portfolio millions. Those shortfalls will affect not only major public bodies but third sector partners in areas such as community justice and victim support. I call again on Labour colleagues in this Parliament to ask the UK Government to rethink that policy and approach. With increasing prison populations, Scotland is facing a potential crisis. An independent review of sentencing and penal policy will be an invaluable resource for exploring ways in which we can address the issue, while ensuring that victims and the public at large across Scotland are protected from harm.”
“That is my call to the other parties in considering supporting the budget. The cabinet secretary will not be surprised to hear—in fact, she mentioned it herself—that if we want to change radically the balance between community rehabilitation and custody, we need to fund that. I welcome the continued investment in criminal justice social work services. We cannot change the balance overnight, but we need to change it gradually over a set period. There should be increased investment year on year until that balance is achieved. Liam Kerr: Will the member take an intervention? Fulton MacGregor: I have four minutes, and we have been asked to co-operate. I am sorry, Mr Kerr.”
“They include extending the presumption against short-term sentences, introducing electronically monitored bail and enabling that time served to be taken into account at sentencing, and strengthening alternatives to remand. Those steps are mitigatory, so it is necessary for further in-depth research to take place on imprisonment and community-based sentences. Therefore, as I have said, I whole- heartedly welcome an externally-led review of sentencing and penal policy. As with so many issues, addressing the topic will cost money. The Scottish Government has increased the justice allocation in the budget for the second year running. If my colleagues across parties support the budget, they will be supporting an investment of almost £4.2 billion in justice, which is an increase of nearly £400 million.”
“There are numerous reasons for the increasing prison population, including increased sentencing lengths, more convictions for historical offences and increasingly complex situations regarding separating groups of prisoners from one another—all issues that we hear about regularly in the Criminal Justice Committee. In exploring the topic, we have previously heard evidence that those who are released from short custodial sentences are reconvicted at a rate that is almost twice that of those who are sentenced to a community payback order. Such statistics remind us that, although appropriate in many cases, short prison sentences are often not the best way to reduce reoffending. So far, the Scottish Government has taken a range of actions to address rising prison populations.”
“Further instability will put the effective functioning of our Prison Service at risk, including the ability to rehabilitate offenders, so it is critical that we explore a range of actions to ensure that the system operates safely and effectively for staff and prisoners alike. The announcement of an independent review of sentencing and penal policy is a step towards ensuring that the risk does not become a reality. It might be inferred that larger prison populations indicate that Scotland is becoming more dangerous but, as we have heard, recorded crime has continued to trend downward over the past two decades.”
“Today’s debate examines the difficult issue of prison populations, the justice system and ensuring that the Scottish public are kept safe from harm. If we look at the current environment, we see that rising prison populations are causing issues for Governments across the whole UK. Here in Scotland, the prison population often exceeded 8,300 last year, and projections indicate that the numbers will continue to rise, potentially to record levels. It has been made clear to me and my colleagues at meetings of the Criminal Justice Committee that those numbers are unsustainable without intervention.”
“To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the action that it is taking to support people with long Covid. (S6O-04329)”
“The work outlined by the Scottish Government is complemented by the excellent charities and third sector organisations that have done so much for bereaved parents throughout Scotland. Nevertheless, we must continue to increase healthcare funding so that those who need it most are treated with dignity and respect. In particular, we must invest in early miscarriage units so that there is constant support when that is needed. 16:09”
“Baby Loss Retreat asked me to raise a question here in this debate: why are parents who are experiencing a miscarriage being sent to accident and emergency when we have functioning early miscarriage units for anyone who is experiencing a loss at an early stage in their pregnancy? If people who are experiencing pregnancy loss could be diverted away from the traumatic experience of attending A and E, that would have the double benefit of lessening the pressures on A and E as well. I am heartened by the steps outlined by the Scottish Government today as it looks to improve miscarriage care. We must let people know that they are not alone and that conversations such as those that we are having today are necessary to normalise discussion of pregnancy loss.”
“For him to tell her she may be experiencing a miscarriage to go home and go back to the early miscarriage unit on the Wednesday to confirm if the baby’s heart had stopped or if she’d had a miscarriage. She messaged me scared as the bleeding was getting heavier and she was told to wait until Wednesday when the unit would be opened. She eventually had to pay for a private scan to confirm that she was actually having twins and that one twin had died.” That is a tragic set of circumstances and my condolences go to the family, but I think it is important to raise that.”
“I spoke to Julie Morrison of Baby Loss Retreat ahead of the debate and she stressed the need for improved services in early miscarriage units. She made me aware of a case that I have been given permission to share, which I will do in Julie’s own words, as I think that will be more apt to the situation: “I had to deal with a parent 2 weeks ago who had experienced a miscarriage. She was sent to A & E due to early miscarriage unit being closed over the weekend depending on what area you live in. She went to A & E bleeding and scared that she was losing her baby. She arrived in A & E and had to wait 8 hours for a gynaecologist to come and see her.”