Our Man in Holyrood: Amid rising Covid infections and the worrying pressures that placed on NHS Highland MSP Fergus Ewing renews calls for everyone to follow government advice

I’m sure many readers were as concerned as was I to see a number of issues relating to Covid-19, whether that be rising case numbers or NHS staff having to isolate, placing NHS Highland under significant pressure over the last few weeks.

However, it is good news that Raigmore has now come out of its code black status and I was pleased to note the Scottish Government will be investing a total of £9.7 million of additional funding to NHS Highland to help facilitate ongoing work to tackle Covid-19 and waiting times for other services due to this.

I’m aware there is a backlog of people waiting for operations, particularly orthopaedics, and that this forms a large part of the caseload that my office deals with.

I’m in regular contact with NHS Highland and Scottish Government colleagues on this matter and rest assured the health board, doctors, all the staff at Raigmore and GP practices are working extremely hard on this to tackle these problems.

It’s important we all work with our NHS Highland staff, and those who require their care, by doing our bit to help stop the spread of the virus and keep each other safe.

I would remind constituents to keep following the FACTS guidance, getting tested and to isolate if necessary.

Lateral flow tests can be delivered to your home or you can visit the Inverness drop-in clinic located at Tesco Car Park, 1A Eastfield Way, Inverness Business and Retail Park, Inverness.

n I was delighted to see local community campaigner, Kate MacLean, will be representing the SNP in an upcoming by-election in the Inverness West ward on Thursday, August 12.

Kate is a well-known face in the community and has done lots of practical volunteer work to help people such as setting up a café for the bereaved, a soup kitchen for the homeless and helped develop the association for out of school clubs.

I know her primary focus will be to work with councillors across the chamber to ensure recovery and resilience is at the core of everything the council does as we emerge from the pandemic. She is also passionate about increasing high-skilled jobs in the area and will use her influence as a councillor to promote a greener, fairer city for all.

Related Story – NHS Highland declares a Code Black for Raigmore Hospital as it reaches capacity amid 'unprecedented' demand

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