Highlands older people ‘skipping meals’; plus ‘much love’ for 89-year-old stuck in hospital
‘Fergus stands up for what he believes is right’
I am not a member of the SNP nor am I a supporter of independence. However it is rare nowadays to find a politician who actually speaks up for those who he represents and stands up for what he believes is right.
Fergus Ewing is such a person. Last year I had difficulty for several months in trying to access a blood test from Raigmore Hospital following the removal of a contract with GPs by NHS Highland.
Exasperated with no action I contacted Mr Ewing by email at around 1pm on a Saturday seeking his help – I had met him briefly twice.
He responded by 3pm to say he would raise the problem with NHS Highland the following week. Later that week I was contacted by NHS Highland and the issue then resolved.
That is why next year I will be voting for Fergus Ewing and I urge the Inverness and Nairn constituents to do so and send him back to Holyrood to represent us all.
Graeme MacBean
Stratherrick Road
Inverness
Could you help to care for cats?
Cats Protection Inverness, Nairn and District is hoping to recruit fosterers to care for cats in need.
The branch, which is run entirely by volunteers, needs people who can offer a temporary home to one or more cats whilst they get back on their paws.
Cat fostering is hands-on cat welfare work, looking after felines in a Cats Protection-provided outdoor pen (sited in a garden space of 4.6m x 1.8m), or in a spare room which is bigger than 3.5m² (with no soft furnishings) in the fosterer’s home.
Cat fosterers are a vital aspect of our provision of help to cats and their owners in the local community.
The charity provides everything that you need from equipment to training, but cat fosterers do need to have room in their garden or a spare room and, of course, a love of cats.
Offering a temporary home to a cat in need can be a fulfilling and enjoyable experience, and becoming a volunteer for Cats Protection is a great way to meet like-minded people!
Cats Protection is the UK’s leading feline welfare charity and Cats Protection Inverness, Nairn and District is part of the charity’s nationwide network of volunteer-run branches and centres that helped 191,000 cats and kittens in 2024. That’s the equivalent of helping around 525 cats a day.
As well as finding new homes for unwanted and abandoned cats, the charity also offers cat care advice to the public and can help towards the cost of neutering.
If you would to find out more about volunteering with Cats Protection Inverness, Nairn and District then please email bsunorth@cats.org.uk or message our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/catsprotectioninverness
Ellie Gartside
Branch team leader.
Cats Protection Inverness, Nairn and District
Older people skipping meals to survive?
Our charity recently released a new Index into the financial wellbeing of older Scots. Across the country, the results were stark, and closer to home they reveal the tough choices many in later life in the Highlands and Islands region are being forced to make.
Our data has shown that, shockingly, in the region, 28 per cent of older people have skipped meals in the last year. Just 23 per cent say that the State Pension is enough to cover basic living expenses.
The Scottish Government recently put forward its Programme for Government, and again, despite rising levels of pensioner poverty, there was no proposed plan to tackle this.
At Independent Age, we know urgent action is needed. A pensioner poverty strategy should include a Pension Credit awareness campaign, which is a vital source of support for older people on a low income that a significant number in the region – 20 per cent – do not even know about.
The results of our Index show the unacceptable financial difficulties many older people in the Highlands and Islands are experiencing. This must change. Both the UK and Scottish Government must act.
Debbie Horne
Scotland policy and public affairs manager
Independent Age
Lack of care leaves woman stuck in hospital
An 89-year-old Inverness woman is suffering a “heart-breaking” decline because delayed discharge has left her stuck in hospital since Boxing Day. Although fit enough not to be in hospital Chrissie Noble cannot be released because of a lack of care available to look after her in her own home.
“Oh so sad for Chrissie such a lovely lady when I was her neighbour . Sending much love to you all.” - SusanElizabeth McGill
“Very very sad indeed but not at all uncommon, hope Chrissie can be at home with her family soon, sending lots of love and prayers for a discharge in the not too distant future I hope. Three years it took for my father to get a discharge from hospital after getting the right care package for him. He saw out the next nine months at home until he passed. Although it was very gruelling and upsetting we fought hard, we never gave up for him and just fortunate that he saw out his final months at home where he wanted to be.” - Kelly Melville
“This situation of delayed discharge is easily solved by paying carers a much better wage thus allowing more recruitment of carers and in turn this frees up beds which in turn lets patients on the long waiting lists to be admitted and in turn reduce waiting times. When I say to give carers a decent wage, they are at present paid on par with shelf stackers in supermarkets. Without improved wages I’m afraid the delayed discharges will continue and unwittingly they are killing off the NHS, as people are going private rather than wait for months at a time.” - Meg Toole
“Our lovely local cottage hospital has been closed, as have so many throughout Scotland. This coupled with the above mentioned super slow processing of carers applications suggests the powers that be hope we shall die and cost less! I am in my 80s and find it very frightening.” - Barbara J Ledger
“So sad, what an awful state our care system is in.” - Jan Duncan
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