Housing / Accommodation remains a challenge for NHS
Meanwhile the SIC is keen to hear from any accommodation providers with rental properties for incoming staff
NHS Shetland says it is undertaking a strategic review of its accommodation resources to ensure it is able to support its current and future workforce amid a challenging housing market for incoming staff.
It comes as Shetland Islands Council recently took the unusual step of issuing a call for available rental accommodation.
A lack of housing in Shetland has been rumbling on for a number of years, with demand from large construction projects squeezing the market.
It has now become a regular sight to see people moving up to Shetland for work taking to accommodation groups on Facebook to find somewhere to stay. The situation has also affected local residents too.
The council said with “continued pressure” on the local housing market it is keen to hear from anyone with short, medium or long-term lets.
Another large-scale public sector employer in Shetland is the NHS.
NHS Shetland chief executive Brian Chittick said the health board is undertaking a strategic review at the moment on accommodation.
It already has some of its own accommodation, including a former guest house it bought in 2022 – although at the time that had a focus on housing visiting staff.
Accommodation has also been considered when thinking about a replacement Gilbert Bain Hospital.
Chittick said the health board is also “exploring all opportunities to work with partner organisations to improve the options for staff and families looking to move to the isles in finding suitable affordable accommodation”.
“We have received feedback from staff engagement and exit interviews that a challenge in retaining staff is the amount of affordable housing that is available for staff to stay in Shetland,” he said.
“To bridge this gap, we do have a number of properties that we let to staff to help them integrate into Shetland and working in NHS Shetland.
“However, we do find that those new employees moving to Shetland with families or pets face particular challenges in finding accommodation to suit their needs. This has been a problem for quite a while.
“Other areas where we have tried to support new staff moving to Shetland is in the form of providing relocation allowances and connecting staff to properties which we know are both available and affordable.
Meanwhile Shetland Islands Council chief executive Maggie Sandison recently said the local authority knows there are many people in Shetland who are struggling to find accommodation, with its long term housing strategy aiming to help address this.
“In the short term, we have a number of new members of staff, across many areas – schools and social work for example – and we need to find them somewhere to stay so they can provide vital public services,” she said.
“We’d like to hear from anyone who has any suitable properties that they’d consider letting.”
Anyone who may have suitable accommodation is asked to contact the council’s human resources department on HumanResources@shetland.gov.uk or phone 01595 744023.
He said the workforce associated with the construction of the Viking Energy wind farm and also the Shetland Gas Plant in the 2010s had impacted the market and pushed prices up.
The Sella Ness accommodation camp – which has temporary planning permission in place until 2026 – has been utilised for visiting workers in recent years, but the private rental market has been used too.
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