Health & Social Care

Essential services must be restored for the whole area. Some progress has been made since the Sir Lewis Ritchie recommendations but there is still a long way to go. I will work with everyone to ensure healthcare and social care delivery is working for the benefit of all.

The NHS was founded in 1948, but much of it was based on the Highlands and Islands Medical Service (est 1913). If you’re not aware of the history of HIMS, there is a great introduction here. Short version is that funding was provided for doctors and medical professionals to make a living while providing health care for all those that needed it, free of charge. We need to go back to the original roots of the NHS and ensure there is a service that meets our needs.

My mum, Anne Gillies, has been at the forefront of fighting for Raasay and North Skye’s healthcare services for years. I have seen first hand the incredible amount of work that has gone into that fight – the meetings, emails, research, phone-calls. Communities should not be putting in so much effort to try and restore essential services.

Community based healthcare is essential. As a teen, I would have died had the district nurse not known my family history and sent me to Broadford hospital – “it hopefully isn’t but just in case it’s appendicitis”. It was. Mr Ball had it removed within a few hours. Had that been NHS24, the delays could have been catastrophic.

We need to have experienced healthcare workers in our communities that know us, that have the time, and have the confidence to do what is needed. I remember times as a home carer to be so thankful when the community nursing team arrived to advocate for our clients. I have some lifelong friends from working in home care but that role has changed drastically from when I was there. I understand the recruitment issues around home care, but not for NHS roles.

Recruitment was not and is not the issue. The issue is housing the staff. On Raasay, my mum and the others involved in the community council group that focused on the NHS Highland issues, were able to identify properties that the Lochalsh and Skye Housing Association were able to purchase and maintain for the exclusive use of nursing staff for Raasay. Housing. It is always behind the challenges facing so many of the challenges our communities face.

I will always work with community groups, The Highland Council, NHS Highland, Lochalsh and Skye Housing Association, and others to find a way to restore our health care services.