Islanders call for access to mainland healthcare

Barra is an hour's flight away from Glasgow

Concerns have been raised about long journeys some patients in the Western Isles have to make to access specialist care.

People in Barra, including cancer patients and some expectant mothers, face trips of five hours or more to reach Stornoway, Lewis, where the islands' largest hospital is located.

Local councillor Kenneth MacLean and Katie Macneil, who volunteers helping patients, said access should instead be provided to hospitals in Glasgow - which is an hour's flight away from Barra.

NHS Western Isles said it recognised the challenges, adding it was trying to provide more services locally.

Barra and neighbouring island of Vatersay are home to about 1,260 people.

Castlebay, the largest settlement, is 96 miles from Stornoway as the crow flies, but about 140 miles by road. The trip also involves ferry connections.

Barra has a small hospital, St Brendan's, which is supported by a local GP practice and provides care for older people and some other services.

Plans for a replacement hospital are currently on hold.

A new hospital had formed part of a project to create a new education and leisure campus in Castlebay.

There is another small hospital in Benbecula, a trip by road and ferry north of Barra.

It provides care of older people, GP acute care services and midwifery-led maternity services.

The two hospitals are supported by visiting consultants from Western Isles Hospital in Stornoway, and mainland health boards.

Travelling from Barra to Stornoway involves:

• A 40-minute ferry trip from Barra to Eriskay (plus about 20 minutes check-in time before boarding)

• A one hour 30 minute drive from Eriskay to Berneray

• One hour ferry journey from Berneray to Leverburgh (again with an additional 20-minute check-in before departure)

• And a one hour 30 minute drive from Leverburgh to Stornoway

Weather and other traffic delays can make the journey longer.

Kenneth MacLean said islanders recognise island life could be tough, but also believed it was previously easier to access care

Mr MacLean said a round trip to Stornoway for consultations or treatment could take three to four days.

He said it was expensive due to travel and accommodation costs, even after some of this expenditure had been reimbursed by the NHS.

Mr MacLean said people accepted island life was not always easy, but he believed accessing healthcare had got harder.

He told BBC Naidheachdan: "The whole ethos of the NHS is being free at the point of need.

"Older people have said in the 90s we had a better healthcare system."

Katie Macneil worries some patients could be put off seeking help

Mr MacLean added: "You cannot expect people coming home from serious treatments, cancer treatments etc, to be lumped into the back of a taxi and driven the whole way through the Western Isles."

Mrs Macneil said disabilities and ill-health made the journey more challenging for some patients.

She added: "Some people think 'Why am I bothering because of the trials to get there and back are so much.

"On the other hand you could go to the airport and in an hour you are in Glasgow."

NHS Western Isles' Gordon Jamieson said he recognised patients' frustration with travel arrangements

NHS Western Isles said flights to Glasgow would require significant financial support and it was not always a cheaper option for patients.

Chief executive Gordon Jamieson said: "I understand the frustration they are experiencing.

"We send people to Uist and Barra to provide as many services as we can in that area."

He said the health board continued to look at what other services it could provide locally and had recently set up a new eye care service.