Are The SNP creating the new Highland Clearances?

[Kenn]

I appreciate this will be a very controversial post but having lived here for a few years by choice I am saddened by what I see.

I see on a daily basis that the trains don't run to schedule if at all.
There are vacancies in the teaching profession from infant to high school.
Doctors, surgeons and other medical professionals are unwilling to fill posts here in the north and The Islands.
There is a proposal to reduce the X99 bus service which is a lifeline between Scrabster/Thurso and Inverness.
The roads get patched and when the first frost arrives the patches blow.
Wick airport now has so few flights at prices that locals cannot afford despite the discounts available.
Caithness General is rapidly becoming an unsustainable general hospital and pregnant mothers being routinely moved down to Raigmore, meaning they have to undergo a dangerous journey when they are in need of a good midwife and supporting team is of great concern when that hospital regularly has wards closed as the cleanliness is suspect.

What I don't understand is why.
The community I live in is made up of folk from all over The UK and further afield.
Many came here to work at Dounreay and Vulcan. their children grew up here, some have moved north beguiled by the peace and quiet and the quality of life and amongst us are the people who have long family trees within the county.
There must be a way of getting others whether Scots or furriners to appreciate what this county and The Empty Lands have to offer.
Is it such a hardship to have to travel to Inverness through some of Scotland's best scenery for onward transit?

Some one at Holyrood needs to address the matter and for the moment that falls to just one political party.

[Alice in Blunderland]

I appreciate this will be a very controversial post but having lived here for a few years by choice I am saddened by what I see.

OH Lizz controversial indeed however how can it all be laid on the SNPs doorstep....


I see on a daily basis that the trains don't run to schedule if at all.

This issue is one for Scotrail or whatever organisation is now running our trains. There has been historic under investment in rail stock.


There are vacancies in the teaching profession from infant to high school.

Highland Council are in charge of this baby and boy is it a crisis, now tie this in with the failings of the other services that have been quoted it doesn't make this area an attractive easily accessible affordable area to come and settle especially of you have family living further afield that you wish to keep in close contact with other than on the phone. There is a national crisis again in this profession, with this in mind it would be prudent that an excellent recruitment policy is in place. A good remuneration package is in place, good salary, career breaks for professional development, fees to attend courses, etc etc. It would also be good to have a fast track system that allows the vacant post to be job evaluated and advertised quickly when it arises the wheels of Highland Council are not exactly known for turning quickly.
Not exactly the Governments fault if none of these systems are in place apart form yes this all costs money set down by the government but often wasted by Highland Council officials we wont mention a certain heating system gone wrong shall we ? How many salaries would that have provided.



Doctors, surgeons and other medical professionals are unwilling to fill posts here in the north and The Islands.

Dont even get me started on this one I reckon that no matter how much money ANY Government pours into this miss managed fiasco we will never get this problem fixed.The lunatics truly seem to be running the assylum in this case just see the many posts on the NHS thread to appreciate the nonsense that is NHS Highland. If there is an alternative agenda which many are sure there is no one is going to stop this car crash at present. Yes the Government are possibly the ones who could intervene but if NHS Highland feed them what they want them to believe and purposely help manipulate and exhaust the recruitment crisis here then who's going to call them out on this one.


There is a proposal to reduce the X99 bus service which is a lifeline between Scrabster/Thurso and Inverness.

Any business is not a charity if people are NOT using the service then I fail to see how it can operate. I will openly admit I have never used the bus in many, many, years. The buses are half empty on many occasions and are again of poor running stock. The journey takes far too long to be practical and is already subsidised. What do you suggest the Government do pay money to have a fleet of empty buses running around just in case someone wants to use it that truly is a waste ? Its almost impossible to reduce the journey time by much so it will always lose out to the car.


The roads get patched and when the first frost arrives the patches blow.

Ah Highland Council again they prioritise the spend they are the ones that manage or mismanage their budget okay handed down by the Government however its not an never ending pot. Yes we would like more money from the Government ah but wait they in turn are given their budget by .......Oh yes Westminster so let me see it really goes back to South of the border as they control the Govenments allocation who then control the Local Governments allocation....enter the independance debate at this point I would think.



Wick airport now has so few flights at prices that locals cannot afford despite the discounts available.

Its supply and demand as far as the operators are concerned cant have half empty planes flying around so best to keep these to what they know will have bums on seats and this unfortunately are the ones which are most popular with Dounreay and the oil industry who unfortunately will cough the huge fares charged. Cant operate too large a plane as there is less chance of filling them less cost effective. Its a no win situation for joe public really.


Caithness General is rapidly becoming an unsustainable general hospital and pregnant mothers being routinely moved down to Raigmore, meaning they have to undergo a dangerous journey when they are in need of a good midwife and supporting team is of great concern when that hospital regularly has wards closed as the cleanliness is suspect.

Its not the road that makes the journey dangerous its the mother and her condition. Agreed they need a good midwife and support team unfortunately the support team is located in Inverness. Already struggling to recruit there has never been enhanced maternity services in this area and is unlikely there ever will be so for the sake of baby and mums safety this is a must. I have undertaken this journey myself in the back of an ambulance with the blue lights going and much as it was not pleasant for the sake of my unborn child it was a must. There are no paediatric services in Caithness and given the crisis in the ability to recruit and the size of our hospital there will highly unlikely ever be


What I don't understand is why.

The community I live in is made up of folk from all over The UK and further afield.
Many came here to work at Dounreay and Vulcan. their children grew up here, some have moved north beguiled by the peace and quiet and the quality of life and amongst us are the people who have long family trees within the county.
There must be a way of getting others whether Scots or furriners to appreciate what this county and The Empty Lands have to offer.
Is it such a hardship to have to travel to Inverness through some of Scotland's best scenery for onward transit?

Some one at Holyrood needs to address the matter and for the moment that falls to just one political party.

Oh Lizz add together all the above disasters and can you not see why it is so difficult to attract people here. We can sell the beautiful landscape peaceful life until we are blue in the face but throw in the lack of services and leisure facilities right down to the poor choice of shops available, it doesn't make folk exactly run to the hills or the Highlands for that matter now does it ? Many of these professionals are living in areas where they have access to so much more facilities that it would have to be compensated somehow to make them leave and come to live in the North and for most that basically boils down to one thing the biggest pull North any organisation can offer and that's MONEY in a nutshell ! Is any Government in Holyrood willing to write a blank cheque.

[Kenn]

Some good counter balancing there Alice and some equally valid points.

Yes I understand perfectly about it being difficult to attract people , that was the main focus of my post but some folk do want to come here and are happy with the quality of life so why not others?

Yes I know that much of the problem stems from incompetence at Inverness with regard to education, medical services and the state of the roads .

Like all public transport I am aware of the subsidies that are given to try and keep it operating.

At the end of the day however, Holyrood holds the purse strings, hands out the franchises and is ultimately responsible for the whole of Scotland .

[Rheghead]

Lizz, I take from your OP that you are more in favor of a political system which interferes with business rather than laissez-faire?

[the_big_mac]

Lizz, I take from your OP that you are more in favor of a political system which interferes with business rather than laissez-faire?

Rheghead, I take it from this post you believe that we live in a nation that has embraced a fully free market economy with little to no government interference?

[Rheghead]

Rheghead, I take it from this post you believe that we live in a nation that has embraced a fully free market economy with little to no government interference?

No, i just asked a question with no inference as to my own personal political position.

[theone]

Lizz, I take from your OP that you are more in favor of a political system which interferes with business rather than laissez-faire?

Lizz's original post mentioned trains, teachers, doctors, buses, highways, airports and hospitals.

All of these are either paid for, or subsidised, by government.

As it stands, in all these cases things are far from laissez-faire.

Whatever your view on 'ideal' economic systems, I think Lizz's question over government policies affecting the quality of life and desirability of our area is valid.

Would any other party in power perform better - who knows?

[janeyj]

I think anyone living in Caithness will empathise with everything in Lizz's post and not find it controversial at all. 'theone' asks the question whether any other party would perform better? I think the answer is probably no. So what is the answer? Independence for Caithness? We will soon have our own flag after all! Yes, I like the sound of 'The Caithness People's Party'.