Ross MSP hails pioneering health report 100 years on
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THE past, present and future of Highland health services came under the spotlight this week as a pioneering piece of work was remembered.
MSP Dave Thompson, who represents the Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch constituency, hosted a Holyrood debate and reception to celebrate the centenary of the Highlands and Islands Medical Service - and to consider how to protect, improve and provide health services in rural and remote areas.
The Highlands and Islands Medical Service was the first state-funded health care service in the world, preceding the National Health Service by over thirty years.
It was became a model of rural health care. The DewarReport, commissioned by Sir John Dewar, MP for Inverness, in 1912, portrayed the poor state of health in the Highlands and Islands.
Mr Thompson welcomed several Highland doctors to the Parliament, including Dr Stephen McCabe from Portree, Dr Miles Mack from Dingwall and Dr Jim Douglas from Fort William.
Mr Thompson said he was committed to ensuring that health services in his constituency, which includes remote and rural regions, are fit for service.
He said: “The foundation stones of the Highlands and Islands Medical service were local, free and accessible health care of an exceptionally high quality. I want to build on these foundations, and establish good collaborative relationships with local health professionals so that the health service in Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch is fit for service in the 21 century.
“There are challenges for people living in remote and rural regions in accessing health care, but I am committed to making sure the NHS in Scotland does not go the same way as the NHS in England and Wales.
"Instead, we need to work through the issues that face health care professionals and those in need of medical care so that health care remains free and accessibility.
He said the debate would "enable us to reflect on the past, and consider how we can build for the future".
