Also in the news / Meet the NHS board, community benefit call, riding success, JUHA and more…
NHS Shetland management are making themselves available for public scrutiny this week and at the end of the month.
The health board’s vice chair Natasha Cornick, chief executive Brian Chittick and chief nurse corporate Edna Mary Watson will be available for a chat at the Living Well Hub at the Brae Youth Centre on Friday between 11am and 1pm.
Ten days later, on 30 September, the organisation’s annual review will take place online via Microsoft Teams between 4pm and 6pm, and all are welcome to attend.
The annual review provides an opportunity for people to hear and ask questions about the health board’s performance in 2023/24. The meeting will hear a presentation from chair Gary Robinson, which will be followed by a Q&A session.
Questions can be submitted ahead of the meeting by contacting shet.corporateservices@nhs.scot or telephone 01595 743060.
Alternatively, people can contact NHS Shetland in writing through: Carolyn Hand, Corporate Services Manager, NHS Shetland Board Headquarters, Montfield Upper Floor, Burgh Road, Lerwick, ZE1 0LA.
The annual review meeting can be joined by using this link on the 30 September at 4pm.
SCOTTISH Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has claimed that only his party can deliver a fair deal for Scotland’s rural communities.
Speaking at the party’s autumn conference on Tuesday in Brighton, Cole-Hamilton also said that the SNP could not be trusted with “Scotland’s renewables revolution”.
He said in rural Scotland people were shivering in the shadow of wind turbines, unable to heat their home.
“That’s not a fair deal. Not when you live in a part of the country that is the powerhouse for a renewables revolution that will move us to net zero and guarantee energy security,” the leader said.
“It’s why the community benefit rules need to be modernised. It’s only right that local people feel the full benefit too.
“And I’m not talking about planters for the high street or a minor refurbishment to the village hall.
“Because it’s time to reimagine community benefit. I’m talking about:
- Local energy bill discount schemes
- Affordable housing
- New GP surgeries
- Training to upskill local workers and the promise of good jobs
“Of course, we need the right developments in the right places, but I say the bounty of the renewables revolution must flow through those communities.”
WALLS lass Keiva Robertson has come home with an armful of awards after competing at the British Show Pony Society (BSPS) Scotland Finale Show at Howe Equestrian Centre, in Fife, with her young pony Pinina Theodore earlier this month.
She won:
- The Novice 122cm Mountain and Moorland (M&M) working hunter pony and the Novice M&M working hunter pony championship;
- The Open 122cm M&M working hunter pony;
- The Open M&M Working Hunter pony championship;
- Supreme novice pony;
- And supreme working hunter pony of the year.
Keiva said: “It’s days like this which make up for all the long hard days in winter, riding in all weather to get my pony fit when peers south have indoor facilities and instructors on hand every week.”
The 17-year old-receives lessons from Hamish Cameron twice a year, and of course from her mum Avie. She is now hoping to contest the Horse of the Year Show qualifiers with Theo next year.
P7, S1 AND S2 pupils and their parents/carers have until 4 October to submit squad details for next year’s Junior Up Helly Aa, which takes place on 28 January 2025.
Due to rising costs, a guizing fee of £10 per person has been introduced for the first time, although this fee can be waived if a squad member is in receipt of free school meals and/or the clothing grant.
A spokesperson for the organising committee said: “Junior Up Helly Aa will offer an opportunity to have an equal gender split of guizers, on a first come first served basis.
“The festival has a capacity of 125 guizers, including the Junior Jarl and their squad, meaning the festival has space for 110 peerie guizers.
Application forms and guidance notes can be requested by visiting https://linktr.ee/junioruphellyaa or emailing juhacommittee@gmail.com
ALMOST 4,400 pensioners in Shetland will be affected by the scrapping of the £300 universal winter fuel payment, Highlands and Islands MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston has said.
The Conservative MSP expressed “deep concern” about this decision to cut the payment and said it would will particularly affect areas like Shetland, where fuel poverty levels were already disproportionately high due to colder climates and higher energy prices.
“This decision from Labour will hit some of the most vulnerable people in our community, particularly in areas where the cost of heating homes is already far higher than elsewhere in the country,” he said.
“SNP ministers had the opportunity to protect pensioners in Shetland from these cuts, but they chose to follow Labour’s lead and turn their backs on those struggling to heat their homes.
“Both Labour and the SNP have failed to provide the leadership needed to safeguard vulnerable pensioners during what will undoubtedly be a difficult winter.
Some people will be able to qualify for pension credit through income support, Universal Credit, ESA, tax credits and JSA but these are likely to be low numbers.
FORT Charlotte will be one of the buildings in Shetland set to throwing their doors open this weekend as part of the Doors Open Day, Scotland’s largest free festival celebrating places and stories, new and old.
Shetland’s own tall ship Swan is also participating in the festival as are various venues in Yell.
Historic Scotland said that some of the locked doors of the 17th century fort will be open on Saturday from 9.30am to 5.30pm with guided tours scheduled for 2pm and 4pm.
Built in the 1660s to defend the Bressay Sound against Dutch warships, Fort Charlotte was then re-established in the 1780s for the American War of Independence and garrisoned again for the Napoleonic wars of the late 18th and early 19th century. Fort Charlotte’s guns never saw combat and were removed in 1855.
The site saw a range of uses after that, functioning as a town jail and courthouse, a custom house, a coastguard station, a Royal Navy Reserve depot and armoury and a drill hall for the Territorial Army.
ONE HUNDRED and seventy five unpaid carers in Shetland have received more than £50,000 in carer’s allowance supplement payments, Social Security Scotland has said.
The extra payment of £288.60 twice a year was introduced to recognise the contribution unpaid carers make. Carers do not need to apply for carer’s allowance supplement as it is paid automatically to those who are receiving carer’s allowance from the Department for Work and Pensions or carer support payment from Social Security Scotland.
The next eligibility date for carer’s allowance supplement this year is 7 October and payments will be made after this date.
To find out about eligibility for carer’s allowance supplement, people can visit https://www.mygov.scot/carers-allowance-supplement or call us free on 0800 182 2222.
GREEN Highlands and Islands MSP Ariane Burgess has welcomed the news that 200 metre wide buffer zone around abortion service providers, including the Gilbert Bain Hospital, will be provided from later this month.
This follows the Scottish Parliament passing the Safe Access Zones Scotland Act in June, with the support of 118 MSPs from across the chamber.
Burgess said: “Nobody should have to pass protesters with graphic banners and sometimes even megaphones trying to stop them from accessing the healthcare they are entitled to, but that is what people have had to endure.”
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