Truth be told, it must be with a sense of foreboding that volunteers with the Ross and Cromarty Citizens Advice Bureau issue their seasonal Christmas spending warning.

The agency, which has hooked up with the Ross-shire Journal to provide a regular advice column, dealt with local debt cases in the region of £7million last year and has been working flat out to meet demand across an ever-widening range of issues. "Debt is not just for Christmas" doesn't quite have the same ring to it as a similar slogan about dogs. But anyone wary of being hounded by creditors into 2010 and beyond would do well to give it some thought.

The top ten tips the CAB has produced to try and encourage folk to essentially live within their means is hardly rocket science.

But the evidence up until now suggests the timely advice is perhaps more necessary than ever in the current climate.

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A REVIEW of rheumatology services has triggered alarm bells in Ross-shire.

With a well-regarded unit at the Ross Memorial Hospital in Dingwall, people suffering arthritis have at least had access to excellent treatment and care on their doorsteps - something that can hardly be said of all specialities.

NHS Highland, no stranger to the budget pressures now nipping most public services, has confirmed services are being reviewed Highland-wide to take account of changing requirements. An option already under consideration centres on reduced opening hours at the Ross Memorial unit.

While it would be wrong to make a knee-jerk objection to the review without full knowledge of the facts, NHS Highland can be sure that its plans for Ross-shire will be given the closest possible scrutiny in the weeks and months to come.

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