Dr Iain Kennedy, the Chairman of the British Medical Association in Scotland has been quoted in the media, calling for “urgent action” to cope with “a critical shortfall of medics in the Highlands, Islands, and rural communities” and is reported as saying that the “NHS in Scotland has a big rural problem”.
He is also reported as saying ” “Things appear to be getting worse” due to an “abject failure in workforce planning”.
Mental Health is also highlighted, and Dr Kennedy said ” We’re seeing more and more people with the psychological effects from the pandemic and they’re not able to access the services they need.” An NHS Highland spokesman is quoted as saying that “NHS Highland is aware of the “pressures” and apologised for the “distress” long waiting times are causing patients”.
(It is heartening to note that NHS Highland are currently advertising a Consultant Psychiatrist’s post for Caithness and Sutherland – this is very good news, and let us hope the vacancy is filled quickly).
These are all points that CHAT have been emphasising for a very long time. We urgently need a very active local recruitment drive – and by all means improve the salaries, and the terms and conditions – to attract staff. We are very fortunate to have excellent Doctors, Nurses, and Ancillary staff here in the county, who perform incredibly well, but we must have increased numbers of medics to cope with the workload, and to facilitate a return to access to treatment locally.
CHAT work actively with other groups in Scotland to push for greatly improved access to healthcare in “rural and remote” areas, and we strongly support our local NHS workers – but we seek better for them – and we seek localised care for patients. It is very reassuring to note that we now have the Chairman of the BMA in Scotland saying exactly what we have said for years.
There is a lot of media coverage on this story – The P & J ran a story on it, and here is a link to the Guardian, which is accessible to all.
Caithness Health Action Team 