A switch of an emergency call-centre from Inverness to Aberdeen could cost lives, it has been claimed.
Community leaders in some of the most remote communities fear geographical and possibly language complications when staff in the Granite City take over Highland Council’s out of hours service.
Many councillors are delighted with the decision that will slash the £100,000 annual fee currently charged by the police in Inverness for the council service to £27,000 when the responsibility transfers to Aberdeen in November.
But it could pose a serious risk, according to some in more remote areas prone to flooding where speedy council sand-bagging could be vital.
In remote Ardnamurchan, Councillor Thomas MacLennan said: “It takes a while to get here and if somebody’s got the wrong place name you can create real life-threatening situations by being in the wrong place.
“It could lead to a serious problem if somebody gets an emergency situation wrong due to a lack of knowledge or understanding of a Gaelic place name, for example.
“Local knowledge is vital in an emergency situation.”
Kevin Crowe, former chairman of Durness Community Council in northwest Sutherland, said: “I’m aware the council have to save money. This is probably a least-worst option.
“Staff at an Aberdeen call-centre might not realise that a single postcode can cover a massive distance in Highland from, say Lairg to Lochinver, to Durness and Tongue.”
In Inverness, Smithton and Culloden community councillor David McGrath said: “We’ve had flooding emergencies in the past including that at Resaurie – and there’s more than one Resaurie in the area.
“Local knowledge is essential in a vast area.”
Councillor Norrie Donald, an Aberdonian, said: “I don’t think accents matter much because we live in such a mixed society, but the geography could well be problematic.”
Ken MacLeod, a solicitor who worked in Aberdeen, said: “I don’t anticipate problems with accents, but I think there’ll be a fairly steep learning curve in terms of the geography involved. But, given time, we’ll be able to educate them and I don’t anticipate problems.”
Aberdeen City Council finance convener Willie Young said: “We provided Highland Council’s community alarm ‘life and limb’ service for several years, so we have a history of effective partnership working.
“We will be working with Highland Council to further define the operational requirements to ensure we deliver a consistently high quality.”