NHS Highland says a lack of housing is hampering its ability to attract staff to the region.
The health board has been struggling with recruitment for some time, being forced to shell out “eye-watering” sums on locums and temps in recent years.
Since April 2019 it’s spent more than £1.2 million on relocation allowances to lure new hires to the north.
But, in the long-term, it says there are much wider issues to be addressed.
Cash to help new hires move north
Over the last four years, NHS Highland has provided relocation allowances to more than 300 new members of staff.
On average, they’ve received around £4,000 each.
These cover the costs of legal fees, moving and travel to encourage the best medical talent in the country to take up posts.
Overall NHS Highland employs around 10,500 people, while NHS Grampian has a roster of more than 17,000.
But over the same period, the north-east board helped more than three times the number of staff find a new home, paying out £1.8 million altogether.
For comparison, NHS Shetland helped between 25 and 35 staff members move each year, at a total cost of £481,000.
Meanwhile, NHS Western Isles allocated £78,077.67 to between 16 and 21 people, and NHS Orkney spent £260,857.07 on 76 new members of staff.
Housing issues could deter applicants
NHS Highland says the relocation allowance scheme has “definitely” helped to boost recruitment, both locally and from further afield.
But it says this is just one part of its wider efforts to attract health staff further north.
The biggest challenges, the health board says, are around the availability of housing.
This covers homes to rent and buy, and their affordability.
“That is something that we need to work in partnership with our public and private sector colleagues to address, as part of our infrastructure plans for the region,” a statement reads.
“Our long-term workforce plan is to ensure that we maximise our sustainability by ensuring more routes of training and employment that allow people to work and study locally, in addition to those who wish to move away to study.”
Jamie Stone, Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, has suggested one possible solution.
“When I was growing up in the Highlands, there were rental houses set aside for key workers,” he said.
“The fact is, that whenever a house comes on the market, say on the north coast, it will often go for big money.
“The sad truth is that the holiday homes and second homes market can leave local folk in need of housing in a very difficult situation.
“People living in remote areas have just as much right to proper NHS services as people living in the Central Belt.
“For this to happen, you must have doctors, nurses, and other health professionals based locally.
“Housing is crucial to this and a way forward would be to look back and once again to consider earmarked key worker housing.”
Conversation