Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

“Lack of medical cover on island could lead to fatality,” says community leader

Raasay
Raasay

The leader of a tiny Western Isles community has warned that an ongoing crisis over lack of medical cover on the island could soon lead to a fatality.

Residents of Raasay yesterday met with NHS Highland bosses to discuss the lack of cover at evenings and weekends – which currently means that in an emergency, an air ambulance or RNLI lifeboat is called out.

For the last three months, there has been no medical provision past 5pm on weekdays or at any time during the weekend, and the local nurse has been available less than 50% of the time.

And yesterday, at a meeting attended by more than 50 of the island’s 170 people, it emerged the situation will persist throughout October.

Health chiefs have previously said the shortage has been created by recruitment problems.

However, after two hours of discussions, both sides agreed to work together on further advertising for staff.

Raasay Community Council chairwoman Margaret McVicar said: “Several people here have said that the way things are going, and we hope it does not happen, but it could soon end up with a fatality and that is obviously totally unacceptable.

“It has been like this for three months and this coming month of October there won’t be any cover. We asked specifically for an agency nurse and they said they would not consider putting one in place because there is no budget for it.

“The positive out of this meeting is that they have indicated they will re-advertise and the advert will be looked at and worked on by members of the community through a local group.”

She added that the situation may also have a serious economic impact on the island, highlighting an example of the local outdoor centre which often hosts groups of visiting children needing medical cover.

Lloyd Gudgeon, development officer of the Raasay Development Trust, said that between £10million and £20million has been invested in the island in the past 10 years, and that if the situation is not resolved it “will all be for nothing.”

Tracy Ligema, deputy director of operations for NHS Highland north and west, said: “It was a well attended – over 40 people – and constructive meeting where people could freely express their views. We answered all their questions and were honest and upfront about what we could and couldn’t do.

“We have agreed to work with the community on further advertising and also looking at options for the future.”