Cross-party conference to tackle Highland care crisis

Angus MacDonald, MP for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire, and Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, are co-hosting a conference on adult social care in Fort William on Friday 24th October.

The Highland Care Conference, to be held at the Highland Cinema, will bring together policymakers, practitioners and sector leaders to discuss the growing challenges facing health and social care across the Highlands and Islands.

The event marks a rare cross-party effort to find solutions to workforce shortages, delayed discharges, and the loss of local care capacity. 

“This is not a party-political issue,” said Mr MacDonald. “It’s about ensuring that older people in the Highlands can access care close to home - and that the dedicated staff who provide that care are properly supported.” 

“This conference is about moving from highlighting the problems to finding solutions,” Mr MacDonald added. “We need cross-party commitment to deliver a sustainable, fair care system - I want to see definitive action from the Scottish Government to show that they’re prioritising rural and island communities.” 

Ms Forbes commented: “Social care in the West Highlands is facing a number of challenges, including challenges to recruit and to sustain smaller care homes. My hope is that this conferences moves the conversation on to solutions. There are opportunities unique to the west coast, such as thriving industries, increased house building and significant investment - I want to see how we can ensure those opportunities extend to making our care sector more resilient.”

The conference follows the publication of Mr MacDonald’s Highland care report in April, which highlighted critical staff shortages, the closure of nearly 20% of care homes over the last decade, and the impact of delayed discharges on NHS Highland. Both he and Ms Forbes previously supported the community campaign to save Moss Park Care Home in Fort William - one of several facilities under threat due to funding and staffing pressures.

Speakers at the conference include Donald Macaskill (Scottish Care), Professor Andrew Elder (Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh), Dr Pauline Wilson (NHS Shetland), Arlene Johnstone and David Park (NHS Highland), and Katharine Ross (NHS National Services Scotland).

Topics under discussion will include:

• Disparity between rural and urban care bed capacity  
• The demographic time-bomb and its impact on care provision
• Building a sustainable workforce for rural and island communities
• Tackling delayed discharges and supporting NHS capacity
• Resourcing the future: innovation, funding and staffing

The event runs from 10am to 4pm at the Highland Cinema, Fort William, and will be attended by local care providers, NHS representatives and community organisations.