At last - health centre to be completed
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THE roof space in Dingwall Heath Centre is soon to become a first floor with offices and consulting rooms for nurses, therapists and administration staff.
Two years after work began to refurbish the health centre, funding problems brought the project to a halt and a blue tarpaulin sheet crowned the half-finished centre.
It was cramped conditions that prompted the overhaul in the first place, and although the ground floor has been completed, little has changed internally to accommodate the increasing numbers.
Recently I pressed the chair of NHS Highland, Garry Coutts, on a timeframe for the completion of the refurbishment and was assured by Mr Coutts that work would not only restart this year, but would be completed within the year.
Finally, the inconvenience of refurbishment work will come to an end and Dingwall will have a health centre which is fit for purpose.
I know that health care professionals, staff and patients have endured the noise, sight and smell of renovation for a couple of years with great tolerance and patience. It is great news that we will not be disappointed but that endurance will pay off with a nice new health centre.
This month I met local GPs from across the Highlands, including Dr Miles Mack, a doctor in Dingwall Health Centre, to discuss health care in rural and remote areas.
We discussed the matter in the light of the centenary of the Dewar Report, which was published in 1912 to highlight the health care needs of the Highlands.
As a result, I suggested that the Government meet with Highland GPs to discuss plans for another Dewar Report, this time highlighting the needs of health services in rural and remote areas in 2012. I have written to the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Nicola Sturgeon to make this suggestion and by the time this article is published, I imagine I will have received a reply and can pursue the matter with Highland GPs.
AFTER a public outcry, the Westminster Government has done a U-turn on plans to levy 20 per cent VAT on static caravans.
The Westminster Budget published plans to impose 20 per cent VAT tax on static caravans in February. The repercussions of this policy in the Highlands would obviously be phenomenal as tourism is the greatest industry, and many in the Highlands also choose to live in a caravan before buying or renting a house.
Two weeks ago I wrote the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, and accused the UK Government of discriminating against first time buyers and hindering tourism by imposing VAT on static caravans. Last week, the Westminster Government announced that it would significantly reduce the VAT levy it is proposing from 20 per cent to five per cent. This is still five per cent more than is levied just now, which is five per cent more than I would like to see, but the U-turn must be welcomed.
The other thing that I would like to see more of is Gaelic teachers.
The burden of teaching a class of pupils through the medium of Gaelic is more easily carried if it is shared with another teacher. Last year Highland Council equalised the ratio of teachers to pupils in Gaelic medium with that in English medium.
The consequence of this is composite classes where pupils from primary one to primary four are lumped together in a single classroom, which is hard work for any teacher let alone a Gaelic teacher. I have written to the Council to ask them to reconsider this policy, and look forward to a positive response.
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Dave Thompson is SNP MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch.
