NHS Highland has raised concerns that a lack of 'affordable' housing on the Isle of Skye is hampering efforts to recruit and retain skilled healthcare personnel.

The issue was brought into sharp focus this week after Jacqui Bradley, a recently-appointed highly-qualified midwife, was close to withdrawing from the post as she was unable to find suitable accommodation for herself and her dog, despite making considerable efforts to find suitable housing and being extremely flexible over the choice of location.

Even though Ms Bradley was eventually able to find a solution, the Out of Hours Midwifery Service for Skye and Lochalsh has been suspended since mid-November due a lack of qualified midwifery staff.

Kate Earnshaw, NHS Highland's district manager for Skye, Lochalsh and Wester Ross, said: "Happily, a solution has now been found for Jacqui and we are grateful for the help and suggestions we received from local councillors, the local Housing Association and others.

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"However, we remain concerned about the ongoing challenges with a number of other posts we are about to recruit. For instance, we are interviewing for an advanced nurse practitioner next week and accommodation is, again, likely to be an issue."

NHS Highland management have now called on anyone with local knowledge for assistance, asking Skye residents to contact them if anyone is willing to rent property or provide local accommodation solutions.

Ms Earnshaw continued: "We also have a number of other key posts coming up on Skye including: care at home worker posts in the North; an Hotel Services assistant manager post; Supporting Independent Living in the Community (SILC) posts for North Skye; and occupational therapist, social worker and practice nurse positions that we have been unable to recruit to.

"With other existing staff yet to settle into what accommodation is available, and a staff member recently resigning because of the lack of suitable housing, you can understand why we are keen to find affordable solutions to this issue."

Discussions are now taking place with the council, local housing associations, and local housing developers to see what more can be done to assist its frontline staff, with other key workers in organisations such as the Fire Service and the private healthcare sector also facing the same problems.

Anyone who knows of local affordable accommodation or who is willing to rent property to NHS Highland staff, should contact Kate Earnshaw on 01471 820600 or via email at [email protected].

(LM)