September 11th 2024

By Ailsa Colquhoun

Scottish Parliament hears of failures in rural health services

A motion to improve access to health and social care in rural Scotland has been lodged in the Scottish Parliament.

Lodged by Tim Eagle (Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party), the motion calls for the Scottish Government to properly invest in health and social care in rural and remote areas and deliver better health outcomes for residents.

Key points of the motion include that recruitment and retention of staff, poor infrastructure, and the inability to access certain services are all common issues that impact health and social care in rural and remote areas.

The lack of health and care infrastructure also contributes to the wider issue of rural depopulation, it says.

•  Failures of the GP contract in the Highlands has also been raised in the Scottish Parliament