Mid Deeside Community Council has submitted formal objections to proposals by NHS Grampian to close the birth unit at Aboyne Hospital as part of a review of Maternity Services across the region.

At their regular monthly meeting members agreed unanimously to back a submission raising local concerns at the loss of the unit, which was reprieved five years ago following a local campaign.

NHS Grampian is consulting on its proposals for Maternity Services, which would see the creation of Community Maternity Units at Aberdeen, Inverurie and Peterhead, each designed for about 250 births a year.

MDCC says it is concerned that these proposals will reduce the choice available to women on Deeside, particularly as travelling to Inverurie is “almost impossible by public transport and is not easy by private car”.

There are also concerns about parking at Foresterhill for those who would be obliged to travel into Aberdeen.

Members agreed that what is seen as a ‘one size fits all’ approach does not take into account the needs of women and families in a rural area with a low population such as Deeside.

Vice Chairman of the community council, Mick Mallett said: “We were all in total agreement on this issue and feel it is important that we represent the concerns of people in the area over the loss of this highly valued unit.

“There is some good in what the NHS is proposing but we cannot accept that the Aboyne unit needs to be sacrificed to fit the service model that the NHS is promoting.

“The Aboyne unit should be maintained within the overall service, to meet the needs of women and families in the west of Aberdeenshire who are likely to be marginalised by the centralisation of services on Inverurie and Aberdeen.”

In their submission the Community Council adds: “ We do not believe, for women and their families in our area, that the proposed changes will achieve the outcomes sought. Whilst the professionalism of your staff will ensure women will receive the same quality of care and treatment, it will not be closer to home.

All of the issues we have highlighted can be addressed by the simple expedient of maintaining a birth unit at Aboyne and recognising that one size does not fit all. We urge the NHS Grampian Board to listen and respond to the very real concerns of residents within our area, to think again about the proposed changes and recognise the needs of a rural area.”

The consultation will run until March 22 and the community council is urging all local residents to respond and put forward their views.

For copies of the consultation paper and questionnaire go to www.nhsgrampian.org/maternityreview or phone 01224 550950.

The parents of a woman who died from bone cancer aged just 22, held a charity ceilidh in memory of their daughter last weekend.

Sam Johnstone died in April 2009 after a long battle with Ewings Sarcoma a primary bone cancer. The ceilidh was held at Tullynessle Hall, near Alford, on Saturday.

The event was very well attended despite the snow and managed to raise around £6700 for the chosen charities - Bone Cancer Research Trust and Maggie’s Aberdeen Appeal.

Sam’s mum Jackie said that everyone had a great night.

“The music from the Jennifer Forrest Ceilidh Bank was superb and we would like to extend our grateful thanks to them,” she said.

“Of course raising money for good causes matters enormously but we wanted to make sure that everyone enjoyed themselves in the process.

“Sam always enjoyed nights out and she would have been so proud and delighted that everyone came along to ‘Sam’s Ceilidh’ and made it the success it was.”

Jackie added: “We would like to thank everyone who helped us make this possible. We are very lucky to have such a supportive network around us.

“We miss Sam terribly and we feel that we want continue the work that she would have done if she were still here and that is to raise awareness of primary bone cancer and to raise money for causes that were close to her heart and also any that we now choose on her behalf.”

Around seventy members of the local community heard that despite previous denials by the Church of Scotland (COS) that there was ever any plans to sell Stothert Memorial Church and / or the manse in Lumphanan, both were now officially for sale.

Dr Alison Carroll addressed the meeting in the village hall on behalf of Lumphanan Heritage Society which was a joint meeting of the Heritage Society and Lumphanan Community Council

She said there had been a lack of response and “uncooperative behaviour” from the church, and also Mid Deeside Presbytery, who have since sent a legal letter saying they will not answer any correspondence from the Heritage Society and in future all correspondence should be sent direct to COS Edinburgh.

Dr Carroll said the point of meeting was to see if the local community still supported efforts to secure the church and to see if there was support to change Heritage Society to a “Community Interest Body” in order to pursue purchase of church.

There was unanimous support on both matters and all members of Heritage Society are to receive letters outlining the changes.

Dr Carroll said the sole interest was in the church building, which is available separately and was of less value than the manse.

The meeting heard that funding sources for the purchase were being investigated and that the community would be looking for donations by way of trades’ skills such as from joiners or plumbers who could volunteer their labour.

It was agreed that a register should be set up where community members can sign up to donate their skills and that the community group would be interested in hearing of any further fundraising ideas.

Dr Carroll said it was heartening to see so many people turn out for the meeting and also to know that the efforts of the Heritage Society and the Community Council had the continued backing of the community.

A Banchory mother is set to run two marathons in the space of a month to raise money for a dyslexia charity.

Jayne Eccles, 34, will compete in the London Marathon in April before running the 26.2 mile race in Edinburgh the following month.

The support worker, who works at Linn Moor School in Culter, is hoping to raise £1,000 for The British Dyslexia Association (BDA).

Jayne’s son Marcus was diagnosed with dyslexia as he was leaving primary school and she feels that many people are unaware of the complex nature of the condition.

Jayne said: “It was a late diagnosis and meant a very difficult transition into secondary education. Dyslexia can effect not only reading and writing, but has a profound impact on social skills, self esteem, mental health and emotions.

“With information that I gathered from charities like BDA and local support groups I was able to ensure he was given all of the aids he needed to get the best out of his education.

“We are blessed to have a child who can see ‘outside the box’ and he is a confident and creative young man now. I’m running these marathons for him because I’m a very proud mum!”

Jayne, who lives in Banchory with her partner Kyle and two children Marcus and Holly, ran over 100 miles last month and has already raised over a third of the £1,000 she hopes to generate for The British Dyslexia Association.

The charity supports people with dyslexia and their families through a UK-wide network of local dyslexia associations and a national helpline. The BDA also campaigns to raise awareness of the condition.

Jayne said: “Charities like BDA do such good work but do go unnoticed until dyslexia affects you personally. Thanks to everyone who has sponsored me so far.”

You can visit Jayne’s fundraising page: http://www.justgiving.com/jayne-eccles1