First published on 1320Radio in 2016 – author unknown
Continue reading “Born In the Back of Beyond”
CHAT NEWS UPDATE
There has been a lot of work done by CHAT over the past few weeks. We have met with MSP’s Maree Todd, Rhoda Grant, and Edward Mountain; we have held meetings with senior NHSH staff, and Secretary Maria Aitken, and Vice Chair Iain Gregory had a very useful discussion with the Scottish Human Rights Commission, with another talk to take place soon.
We are convinced that taking a Human rights-based approach to the healthcare issues in Caithness is the way forward, and the ever-helpful and highly professional people at SHRC have undertaken to assist us to gain a fuller understanding of the legislation, which will empower us to drive change forward.
They are also shortly to publish a report on Human Rights issues in the Highlands and Islands, and one of the main topics to be addressed concerns access to healthcare. We look forward to seeing the report, and sharing the links with you.
CHAT, working along with our colleagues in Skye, and Galloway (areas with similar problems to ours), have this week written to MSP’s across Scotland, and to both national and local media, seeking support for our wish to see a Scotland-wide Rural Healthcare Agency being set up, thus ensuring that the needs of patients in “remote and rural” areas receive the best possible access to treatment and care. This follows the petition submitted to the Scottish Parliament Petitions committee in 2023, in which Dr Gordon Baird sought the approval of the Scottish Government to institute such an agency. (Petition number 1845).
There is no doubt – and I do not think that there is any real counter-argument now – that we simply cannot continue with a situation where hundreds of mums-to-be, and thousands of patients annually, have to make the long and dangerous journey to and from Inverness. We have first-class facilities and hugely professional medical staff in Caithness. We need to increase funding, staff levels and facilities – just as is done in the islands.
CHAT will continue to campaign professionally, to work with all stakeholders, and to be the voice for Caithness.
“I am a long term supporter of Caithness Health Action Team (CHAT) – JAMIE STONE MP
No need to add anything to this, except to say that CHAT are in total agreement with all that the MP has said!
NEWS FROM CHAT
CHAT is always totally apolitical, but it is worth mentioning – now the election is over and all that’s left to come will be the inevitable post-postmortems – that healthcare in Caithness played a very big part in the debate leading up to polling day.
CHAT contacted all of the candidates, and asked them to answer a number of important questions relating to Caithness medical care. We asked:-
Q1) Will you call for the immediate reinstatement of the long promised capital funding for Health Hubs in Caithness and improvements to Caithness General hospital? Q2) What will you do about the current maternity model for Caithness which does not meet our communities needs and how will you increase the number of births in our Caithness maternity unit? Q3) Do you agree that it was unfair to move children in statutory care from their home in Wick to Thor House in Thurso with no consultation with the service users in both Wick and Thurso? What will you do to rectify this? Q4) How will you ensure that our transport system in Caithness is fit for purpose to meet our communities needs? Q5) Why do you think Caithness is being ignored and (residents) treated like second class citizens with health services being continually centralised ? What will you do about this?
So who actually answered? Well, in alphabetical order, we heard from Lucy Beattie (SNP); Fiona Fawcett (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party), and Jamie Stone (Scottish Liberal Democrats). Each of them replied in great detail, and if you would like to read what they said, please visit our Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/caithnesshealth/
No other responses were received, but Eva Kestner, Scottish Labour Party, attended the recent Scottish Womens Convention roadshow at Wick – as a matter of note the report, which SWC will send to Scotgov, contains eight key recommendations, the first of which is to “Re-establish comprehensive maternity services within Caithness General Hospital as part of the current redesign process, to provide local care for women and babies”. No argument from CHAT there.
Lucy Beattie also met, (online, due to ill-health), with Maria Aitken, CHAT Secretary, and Iain Gregory, Vice-Chair, to discuss the questions raised, and Maria and Iain strongly stressed the need for Caithness to adopt the “Orkney Model” for maternity care, along with enhanced services for all patients, and far greater assistance in respect of travelling, and the cost of accommodation, for those people obliged to journey to and from Inverness.
So what we need now is action – We want the capital funding for the health hubs, and work at CGH, now – not in “at least two years” (by which time there will have been another Holyrood election); We need the maternity situation sorted out urgently – no more “promises”; no more “reviews”; no more “reports” and no more “discussions”. Just action; The situation with regard to Avonlea, the former Children’s home in Wick, and the loss of access to respite care at Thor House in Thurso, is not acceptable, and it has a direct effect upon people’s health and wellbeing, and Action is needed; Our transport system is nowhere near adequate. The A9 / A99 is frequently closed (by weather or accidents), and the Road requires substantial upgrades. We need far greater investment in public transport (after all over £1 Billion was spent to build some trams in Edinburgh), and we must have guaranteed air services for the years ahead. As to our final question, when we asked “Why are we treated like second-class citizens”? Alba Candidate Steve Chisholm said at a public meeting in Thurso, just ahead of the election, “Caithness could rightly be forgiven for thinking it’s a forgotten and neglected part of the country.” As always, no politics from CHAT, but he is right.
Rest assured that CHAT will continue to make very sure that we will no longer be “forgotten and neglected” – if the authorities think that we will sit quietly by whilst women and babies (and all the other patients) are forced to take the 100-mile plus torturous journey to and from Inverness, then they can think again. We constantly hear the refrain “There is no money”…………..Yes there is. We just need to keep pressing and make sure the cash comes this way. And we will.
RON GUNN TO CHAMPION CAITHNESS HEALTHCARE
CHAT Chair Ron Gunn is one of the main speakers in an online event organised by Scottish Rural Action, headlined “How’s your rural health?” to be held on Wednesday 24th April, 2024, talking about healthcare in “remote” areas, such as Caithness.
There will be input from other campaigners, including Neil Campbell from Skye, (Portree and Braes Community Council, and NHS SOS), and Dr Gordon Baird (Galloway Community Hospital Action Group), as well as from the public, and from practitioners in Healthcare, as well as representatives from the National Centre for Remote and Rural Healthcare.
There is a clear need to push for change – we face many challenges in areas such as ours, and it is really good to see Ron speaking up for the people of Caithness at such an event.
The discussion, which runs for 90 minutes, starts at 1200 on the 24th, and if you want to log in, you can register through Eventbrite or pop an email to christine@sra.scot for further information.
There is a Groat story about the event, so here is the link for subscribers:-
THE BATTLE CONTINUES NINE YEARS ON
There is a really moving and powerful story in the John O’Groat Journal (April 12th – 18th edition), and – once again – we are deeply grateful to our local media for continuing to highlight the current, totally unacceptable situation faced by over 90% of mothers, who are forced to undergo the torturous 210 mile plus return journey to Raigmore Hospital to have their babies.
The headline reads ‘Nine years and nothing has changed – you’re still putting your life, and your child’s, at risk’, and two young mothers speak of the shocking situations they found themselves in, with one being forced to spend two nights sleeping in a caravan in a friend’s garden, as she had been told it was too risky to return home to Caithness, and accommodation in Inverness was simply too expensive.
Another mum spoke of her waters breaking at 0430 on a Friday, and being told that Raigmore would “not have a space for her until the Saturday morning”, some 24 hours later…………..She then underwent the trip to Inverness and “spent a day going around Inverness, feeling very uncomfortable as her waters kept on breaking”, and also not being entitled to accommodation either.
CHAT Chairman Ron Gunn is quoted in the story, and makes it very clear that he wants to see the “Orkney Model” adopted in Caithness – in other words a Midwife-led unit, but backed by Consultants. Is this really too much to ask?
Ron summarises things by saying “It’s supposed to be one of the happiest times of your life – but I am afraid that’s not the current situation for mothers in Caithness and in the north.” That pretty much summarises it, but here is one simple question – how on earth have we found ourselves in this position? And another equally simply one – precisely what do the authorities intend to do about it, and when?
Are we really going to have to accept that – for evermore – the vast majority of mums in Caithness are going to have to accept that the only option is to undergo the dangerous and traumatic journey to Inverness, in pain, stressed and anxious, in all weather conditions, day and night, as well as having to deal with the unaffordable cost of accommodation in the city? Really?
For those who subscribe to the Groat, here is the link.
MSP RHODA GRANT – “WAITING LISTS SHAMEFUL”
MSP Rhoda Grant has said that “Statistics reveal that the statutory Treatment Time Guarantee, which states that no inpatient or day case patient should wait more than 12 weeks, has been broken 15,875 times in NHS Highland since it was introduced in the last quarter of 2021”.
She goes on to say that the “NHS Recovery Plan has done nothing to turn the tide, with 46,690 patients in the Highlands waiting over 12 weeks since it was published”. She also said that “Every one of these breaches is someone waiting anxiously for a medical procedure, often in pain. Many have put their lives on hold, stopped work or retired because of their condition.”
Rhoda adds that “Incredible staff across NHS Highland are going above and beyond to keep services going”, and this is indeed very true. The extraordinary dedication of our local healthcare workers is simply amazing, and it is clear that urgent action is essential to ensure that the much-needed investment is provided to support them, and to ensure that these shocking waiting figures are addressed.
CHAT will continue to campaign tirelessly to seek better for the far north.
MP JAMIE STONE CALLS FOR CAITHNESS HEALTH FUNDING TO BE RESTORED
As we all know, the long-promised funding for our Health Hubs, and upgrades to CGH, has been “paused” for “at least two years”. What “paused” means is not clear, but the words “at least” give justifiable cause for concern………….
CHAT members met with MSP Maree Todd last week to discuss this, as well as other areas of concern to the people of Caithness, and the intention is to keep highlighting the vital need for these promises to be kept.
Now, following the recent Budget statement by Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, MP Jamie Stone has called on the Scottish Government to put the additional £295 million in Barnett Consequentials to good use, and to “right the wrongs” including the ” plans to stall at least a dozen NHS projects, including revamps of Caithness General Hospital and the maternity ward at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.”
Caithness desperately needs this investment – our hugely dedicated and skilled local healthcare staff, and the people of the far north, deserve upgraded facilities, more investment across the board, and recognition of the needs of “remote” areas such as ours.
CHAT IS NOW NATIONWIDE
CHAT Chairman Ron Gunn always speaks up for the county, and he does so in a professional, and respectful, but determined manner, and never more so than on Monday of this week, when he went out live on Good Morning Scotland, the BBC radio programme which covers the whole of the country.
Ron was speaking about the “pause” to NHS capital funding, which has resulted in the delay “for at least two years” in the provision of the money required to progress the long-promised, but yet to materialise, “Health Hubs” in Wick and Thurso. As Ron said, this disastrous announcement by the Scottish Government also means that the upgrades to Caithness General Hospital will not now go ahead, and there will be serious delays to the planned replacement for the Belford hospital in Fort William.
Ron’s interview was picked up by numerous other media outlets, and the emails rapidly started to appear in the CHAT inbox. Ron ended up on the air several times that day, in each case making clear the case for Caithness, with the result that the situation was reported across Scotland. He also made it clear – quite rightly – that he does not blame NHSH for this latest issue, which is entirely down to the “pause” in funding from Scotgov. And what does “pause” mean? “At least two years”? Longer? Five years perhaps, by which time there will be a new government in place? And what will they do, whoever happens to be in power?
There is now huge media interest in what is happening in Caithness, and it is vital that we keep up the pressure to make sure that we are no longer “The Forgotten County”. you can rest assured that CHAT, CRR, and the other dedicated groups across our county will make very sure that we are not forgotten…………..
Here is a link to one of Ron’s interviews with BBC Scotland.
Caithness Matters.
CAITHNESS IN THE NEWS
A very few years ago, it would be fair to say that Caithness was not exactly on the radar in “the corridors of power”. The county was a place which was a very long way from the centre, and known for nothing more than John O’Groats, the Castle of Mey, and not much else, other than being a handy place to build masses of windfarms, far from the sight of the politicians working in Holyrood. Cuts to vital services, the centralisation of control to Inverness and Edinburgh, and a constant erosion of the facilities required to help the community to thrive, became the norm.
Well times have changed – very much so. CHAT has worked tirelessly to raise the profile of the county and to put it “on the map”, and so has CRR (Caithness Roads Recovery), along with a few other dedicated campaigners. The two groups have said what needs to be said, and have done so without fear or favour, because – with the honourable exception of some of our elected representatives – it seemed perfectly clear that the general plan was to make the odd “sympathetic” noise, but otherwise to do nothing, so it fell to us to say what needed to be said.
It does not help when attempts are made to defend the current situation. A situation which is – quite simply – indefensible, as is the tendency to try a spot of “political point scoring” in response to the expression of perfectly sensible concerns, and CHAT and CRR will continue to campaign without fear or favour, no matter what is said by those who should know better. Nor, incidentally, will we take any lectures about what we choose to post on social media – we will continue to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and if that does not go down well elsewhere, then so be it.
In the past week or so there has been headline after headline, TV and radio slots, and FB and website posts, all concerning our home county, and that is just as it should be. We can no longer be dismissed and ignored, because we are now “front-paged” across Scotland. We need to make it clear that we will no longer put up with being treated as second-class citizens. We will no longer put up with having our mums being expected to travel an insane distance to have their babies, at all hours of the day and night, and in all manner of weather conditions. We will no longer put up with the bland, meaningless responses from the very politicians who are supposed to represent us. And we will no longer put up with roads, pavements, and streets that resemble the aftermath of a war zone.
The attacks continue. The “pause” to Capital funding for NHSH – (and it will be interesting to see how they define a “pause”); the pathetic £600k for road repairs for the whole of 2024/25 (when we need about £25m); the apparent belief that the A9 is only a concern as far as Inverness, whilst we must make do with a 1950’s -standard route to and from the county, all the while being accompanied by tax rises, and the attempted imposition of policy after policy eroding, day by day, the Highland way of life.
But this is all going to change. We have some very capable people on board, we have a massive groundswell of support amongst the residents of the county, and we have the determination to succeed. And we will.
This link will take you to the recent series of articles published by The Herald Newspaper. They mention the “New Highland Clearances”, and they are right. But we will not be cleared. Caithness will not be depopulated and destroyed to make way for the giant pylons, the waving mass of wind turbines, or anything else dreamed up by what Fergus Ewing recently described – with great accuracy – as “Coffee shop pseudo intellectuals”.
Caithness Matters.
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/24080027.new-highland-clearances-full-list-articles/?ref=twtrec
CHAT ON BBC
Public anger in the far north continues to rise following the shattering news that – after years of being assured that we had not been forgotten – the Scottish Government has ordered NHSH to “pause” any capital projects, including the Wick and Thurso “Health Hubs” for at least two years.
CHAT has highlighted this disastrous news across the media, and BBC Highlands and Islands now have the story live on their page. Chairman Ron Gunn has made things very clear indeed……………….No amount of spin from politicians is going to alter the facts, but once again we have the worn-out soundbite from Holyrood – “The Scottish government said safe care as close to home as practicable was vital” . We know. We keep telling you so.
And in what parallel universe is a trip of over 100 miles, in labour, travelling in the middle of the night in a snowstorm, “Safe” or “Close to home”……? Answers from Scottish Ministers on a postcard please. If you look at a map, you will find a place called “Caithness” right up at the very top. We are part of Scotland………………
Caithness Health Action Team 