A protest to demand funding for a new Belford hospital in Fort William saw around 700 people take to the streets.
Speeches and calls for cash were made in the Lochaber town as part of a day of action to progress a new hospital.
Construction of the new Belford Hospital was due to start next year and be completed by 2028.
A freedom of information request, seen by the Press and Journal, shows that £1.6million has been spent on the project in the financial year 2023/24.
But major NHS infrastructure projects in the north have been halted due to a two-year freeze on new builds across Scotland.
The march that started at 11am wound its way along Fort William High Street to The Parade Green.
Speakers, Highland MSPs Kate Forbes, Rhoda Grant and Jamie Halcro Johnston appealed to the government to reverse its decision to stall funding.
After the march Ms Forbes said: “The turnout today sends a very loud and clear message that Lochaber is backing a new Belford and that planning and design work on the new hospital must continue.
‘Committed to fighting tooth and nail for a new hospital for Fort William’
“Senior management at NHS Highland must make this their number one priority. To that end I expect them, with Scottish Government support, to do everything within their power to make a new Belford ready to build.
“Whether the hospital is built has a massive impact on everyone living, working and visiting Lochaber, especially as Fort William is the Outdoor Capital of the UK.
“Members of the community and I stand ready to work with NHS Highland to progress plans. I am absolutely committed to fighting tooth and nail for a new hospital for Fort William.”
The current Belford Hospital is 60 years old and was first cited as requiring replacement in a report issued in 1995.
The current project had reached an advanced stage with only final preparatory works still to complete.
A major upgrade of the maternity unit at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness and a refurbishment of Caithness General Hospital in Wick are also on ice.
Land for the project in Fort William was purchased at Blar Mor in 2015.
The Belford Action Group – including the former leader of Highland Council Michael Foxley – say the community and hospital staff were told in 2018 that a hospital would open in 2022.
They say the current hospital is not fit for purpose.
The A&E department and minor injuries unit cares for upwards of 9,000 new patients each year.
Mr Foxley said the hospital needed to be replaced with urgency.
He is one of several prominent locals who have signed an open letter to Neil Gray, the cabinet secretary for health and social care.
The letter said: “The Lochaber community is furious at the recent announcement to halt the design work on the long-awaited new Belford hospital.
‘We could almost see the new hospital in place’
“It is now nine years since the site on the Blar Mor was bought, led by a team of public bodies.
“By 2018 the community, and the Belford staff, were advised that the new hospital was planned to open in 2022.
“Progress towards our new hospital was dismal, until the last couple of years.”
Signed by consultant surgeon David Sedgwick, Mr Foxley, retired Lochaber area manager for Highland Council John Hutchison and community councillors John Gillespie and Patricia Jordan, the letter continued: “We attended, in December, a presentation on the internal layout of the hospital with indicative elevation plans. We could almost see the new hospital in place.
“We want the NHSH to continue with the agreed work.”
Neil Gray, the cabinet secretary for health and social care, said earlier he will consider whether the planning process for a replacement hospital could continue.
He said: “It is essential that NHS boards continue to plan for how they will improve and reform services. We will remain committed to supporting them in that process.”
