A north MSP has assisted in the delivery of 100,000 face masks to protect home carers across the Highlands.
Edward Mountain has worked with Cluny Estate in Laggan to secure the donation of personal protective equipment (PPE) which was handed over to Highland Home Carers yesterday.
The organisation, which has a 500-strong workforce, continues to care for clients across the region during the Covid-19 outbreak.
The masks provided by Cluny Estate will provide protection for staff members for the next three weeks.
The delivery to Highland Home Carers comes after the organisation contacted Mr Mountain to highlight their struggle to secure vital PPE.
Managing director Campbell Mair said: “We are so grateful for this support from Cluny Estate, along with our local MSP Edward Mountain.
“This directly strengthens our ability to care for and support the most vulnerable people across the Highlands and will be of immediate benefit.
“I am immensely proud of our precious workforce, who are showing an unswerving commitment to their roles and to people; each and all are an absolute credit to themselves, the organisation, the sector, and our communities.”
Highland Home Carers were founded back in 1994 and have grown to become one of the largest independent providers of care and support services in Scotland.
The organisation is employee-owned and turns over approximately £7 million each year.
Edward Mountain MSP said: “I am extremely grateful to Cluny Estate for donating these facemasks to Highland Home Carers, who are desperately in need of PPE to carry out their home visits across the Highlands.
“It is incredibly generous and shows their support for the local community and specifically the Highlands.”
The masks arrived at Stansted Airport last weekend and reached the organisation’s base in Inverness yesterday.
Cluny Estate consists of a refurbished grade A listed 19th-century castle and a 10,000-acre estate.
It has been at the centre of some key moments in Scottish history including being offered as brokerage to the Clan Macpherson in 1309 by Robert the Bruce in a bid to destroy his enemies, the Clan Comyn.
The estate was also said to have been top of Queen Victoria’s shopping list when seeking a country estate in Scotland. However, poor weather ruined an opportunity to visit the property, with the monarch instead settling for the famed Balmoral Estate as the royal getaway.
