A campaign group has slammed health bosses for organising a consultation on the future of health and social care services in Portree during working hours.
NHS Highland organised the drop-in session at Portree Community Centre on Friday, from 1pm-6pm.
But SOS (Save our Services) NHS Skye – the group set up to represent the community’s concerns over plans to build a new hospital at Broadford, with a smaller facility in Portree – believes the event should have been held in the evening.
Chairwoman Sarah Marshall, who managed to get there after work, said: “It was very disappointing that this event was held during the day when many could not attend.
“When we arranged a meeting in the evening with NHS Highland in Kilmuir, the entire community came out to hear what was being proposed.”
Mrs Marshall said she went along to learn more about three main areas of service redesign – acute emergency support, long-term medical and interim recovery care and care at home.
She said: “The largest display was on the design of the buildings proposed for Broadford and Portree, which are capital costs, not from NHS Highland budgets.
“The actual provision therein was not forthcoming and there were significant gaps as to how needs will be identified and subsequently met following Portree Hospital closure.”
Her group, which is fighting to save their local hospital, is holding an open meeting tonight at Portree Community Centre at 7.30pm to discuss the event and to consider its next move.
However, NHS Highland’s head of public relations and engagement Maimie Thompson insisted Friday’s event had been “well attended”.
She added: “We are aware that people had some concerns about the timing of the event and, at the workshop in the morning, we agreed that in future local people could say where and when a meeting should be held and we would do our best to accommodate that.”
She stressed beds would not be removed from Portree hospital until the number of care home places and care at home services had been increased and said any money saved by removing beds from the hospital would be invested in the community.
