Grieving families in the north are waiting up to a fortnight to have their loved ones cremated, it has emerged.
Funeral director and Tain and Easter Ross councillor, Alasdair Rhind, says the last seven weeks have been his busiest period since starting the job 25 years ago.
Highland Council forecasts a 19% rise in cremations from the start of December to the end of January compared to the same period last year. A spokeswoman stressed one factor could be that ongoing installation work on new cremators last January restricted the number of cremations which took place.
But Mr Rhind says cremations are normally possible within four to six days and has called on the local authority to extend opening hours at Inverness Crematorium – the only such facility in the Highlands – to take two extra cremations a day during busy spells.
Mr Rhind said: “It seems to be a very busy time for all funeral directors at this moment in time. From my point of view, I would say there’s been a huge increase in people passing away in the last few weeks compared to this time in the previous winter.
“I can not remember it being as busy as this in my time – since 1993. The busy spell has been from about the start of December until now. The waiting has increased (for families) by as much as two weeks.
“It’s certainly taking its toll on quite a lot of people. It’s not hard if you live in Glasgow or Edinburgh as they’re used to it but up here, you’d expect it (a cremation) within a week – and four days for burials. It’s a concern for the public when we cannot get the cremation for 10 to 14 days.”
A council spokeswoman said the local authority is examining options to increase capacity for cremations, with one possibility to stagger service times by utilizing the two chapels at the crematorium.
She said the local authority strives to maintain a seven day maximum wait for cremations but said that, as of Thursday morning, the crematorium has bookings confirmed until February 8.
Mr Rhind highlighted that because there is just one crematorium serving the entire region, families wishing to travel from further afield can not always make early morning times which means they may have to book a slot a few days down the line.
The council spokeswoman said that although there has “undoubtedly” been an increase in cremations and burials and increased waiting times in some cases, this could be due to several factors.
She said that funeral directors may favour slots which maximise their services to the public and for their own operation limits.
She added: “Families will also ask for specific days and timeslots which during busy times can not always be accommodated.
“However, the Highland Council always aim to accommodate all request where possible and to deal with families and funeral directors in a respectful professional manner.
“To date there has been no official complaints from funeral directors or members of the public in relation to delayed cremations.”
Figures provided by Highland Council show that in December there were 95 slots booked for cremations out of a possible 119, resulting in 24 unused slots. This month, there were 114 slots available and 10 have still not been used.
The difference in slot availability between the two months is due to staff holidays.