bagpuss
13-Jun-15, 10:02
So we are about to lose round the clock surgical cover? Hmmmm. While a hurl in an air ambulance might sound exciting, it isn't something to relish. My old dad was airlifted some years back, and it's done in a functional but basic machine. And even if Prince William was at the controls, I dare say it isn't that enticing a prospect.
Why are we so dependent on a locum or temporary contract arrangement? Is it because the far north is such a terrible place to live? Or because the people we need to attract have partners and families, and extended families?
The answer is actually staring us in the face. We do a massive sales and marketing campaign for Caithness as a desirable place to live: affordable property; Cornwall type quality of life; good schools; decent shops and entertainment; sports facilities- the very things that were used to attract the nuclear community in the 1950s and 60s. And we do something else- we finally sort out the public transport. Four hours in a train to travel the same distance covered in half the time by car is downright ridiculous in 2015. Get that rail link going down the coast with decent rolling stock, and getting to Raigmore - or anywhere else for that matter- becomes less of an issue. A two hour train journey makes it easier to get on the next train to Edinburgh, or Aberdeen- and what's to stop one carriage being a dedicated hospital transport - with medical support if required? Similarly, given that there is an airport, why not try increase services at a budget cost? The air discount scheme goes part of the way towards this but could go further.
As a population grows up, matures and ages our medical needs change too. Young families need ready access to maternity services and paediatric care; in middle age we need access to screening and acute services; in our later years it is rehabilitation and respite. Can all of these be accommodated locally? And should they be? It has only been in recent decades that the notion of a centre of excellence to deal with some conditions has been the case- and life expectancy for those conditions has risen.
Should we be looking at what realistically we need to have on our doorstep? And for everything else, find a way of getting to it as easily as possible?
Why are we so dependent on a locum or temporary contract arrangement? Is it because the far north is such a terrible place to live? Or because the people we need to attract have partners and families, and extended families?
The answer is actually staring us in the face. We do a massive sales and marketing campaign for Caithness as a desirable place to live: affordable property; Cornwall type quality of life; good schools; decent shops and entertainment; sports facilities- the very things that were used to attract the nuclear community in the 1950s and 60s. And we do something else- we finally sort out the public transport. Four hours in a train to travel the same distance covered in half the time by car is downright ridiculous in 2015. Get that rail link going down the coast with decent rolling stock, and getting to Raigmore - or anywhere else for that matter- becomes less of an issue. A two hour train journey makes it easier to get on the next train to Edinburgh, or Aberdeen- and what's to stop one carriage being a dedicated hospital transport - with medical support if required? Similarly, given that there is an airport, why not try increase services at a budget cost? The air discount scheme goes part of the way towards this but could go further.
As a population grows up, matures and ages our medical needs change too. Young families need ready access to maternity services and paediatric care; in middle age we need access to screening and acute services; in our later years it is rehabilitation and respite. Can all of these be accommodated locally? And should they be? It has only been in recent decades that the notion of a centre of excellence to deal with some conditions has been the case- and life expectancy for those conditions has risen.
Should we be looking at what realistically we need to have on our doorstep? And for everything else, find a way of getting to it as easily as possible?