A critical report highlighting crucial local concerns, including healthcare and social care decline, has seemingly been disregarded by the government, impacting Caithness.
I said policy needs “rural-proofing”. This stops rural people facing more inequality, mentioning the shelved Human Rights Bill. Funding based on rights could fix issues in the report.
I wanted a government response from the debate, but they hadn’t replied to the commission or report creators and haven’t even considered it yet. This is disappointing after months, as it seems like a low priority for the government. They ignore the needs of Caithness, which also hurts the wider Highlands and Islands areas. I will keep pushing for a response and raising the report, too.
I also spoke about delayed hospital discharges. NHS Highland has problems with this. Highland social care gave 14,497 hours of care weekly in 2022, which fell to 13,423 hours by February 2024. That’s a big drop in two years, while demand is also growing because of aging.
NHS Highland had eight care home closures recently. It’s no wonder people wait months to leave the hospital. The government suggests a “renewal”, but I don’t have much faith in it, because past attempts failed already. They offer apps that might help cities, but these apps won’t work well in rural areas as many have bad internet.
I believe we need more healthcare courses locally, offered at the Highland university. Scottish Labour will create a ten-year NHS plan that will root the NHS in communities.
Orbex won’t review pausing the spaceport project, despite getting new UK government funds. They say the funding speeds things up, but I still believe Sutherland site development is key. I’ll keep pushing for it.
Rhoda Grant is a Highlands and Islands Labour MSP.