Also in the news / Malakoff plans, debate challenge and more …
AN ICONIC Lerwick building could be revitalised under plans submitted to Shetland Islands Council.
Malakoff has asked for planning permission to give its famous red building at North Ness a spruce up, as well as installing solar panels to reduce energy consumption.
The engineering and fabrication firm is looking to re-sheet the building, which is a recognisable facet of town life in and around the street.
Malakoff is well-known for its boat building, with its bright red home in Lerwick a staple part of Shetland life for decades.
STAFFING concerns, pressure on services and access to care are the top worries Shetlanders have about health care in the isles, according to one election hopeful.
Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate Emma Macdonald carried out a local survey late last year, asking for people’s views on health provision in Shetland.
She has also backed her party’s new national plan to fix NHS workforce planning, which she says reflects the concerns from Shetlanders.
Macdonald said it was clear from the survey response that people in Shetland are “deeply worried” about the future of health services.
“From GP access to hospital care, the message I hear time and again is that staff are stretched and services are under real pressure,” she said.
“I have seen how much commitment NHS staff in Shetland bring to their roles every day. Despite that, they are being let down by a system that has failed to plan properly for the long term – a failure that is felt most sharply in rural and island communities.
“By listening to patients and trusting frontline NHS staff, we can build a health service that works for island communities, not against them.”
LABOUR hopeful John Erskine has challenged first minister John Swinney and the SNP to take part in regional election debates.
Erskine has argued that voters in the Highlands and Islands deserve to hear directly from those seeking to lead Scotland.
The comments come after Erskine attended Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar’s New Year speech in Edinburgh today (Monday), as he set out his priorities ahead of May’s Holyrood election and made the case for a change of government in Scotland.
Erskine said Sarwar “set out clear priorities today – fixing our NHS, raising standards in education, and making sure communities like those in the Highlands and Islands are no longer taken for granted”.
He added: “If this election really is about Scotland’s future, then John Swinney should be willing to debate it openly and directly. I would like to see regional debates take place across the country, including here in the Highlands and Islands.
“And if the SNP are serious about engaging with island communities, I hope they will agree to a head-to-head debate between Anas Sarwar and John Swinney taking place in Shetland.”
There are two other Scottish Parliament election candidates publicly confirmed so far for the Shetland seat, as well as Macdonald and Erskine: Hannah Mary Goodlad of the SNP and Brian Nugent of the Sovereignty party complete the current picture.
OPENREACH says around 2,200 hard-to-reach homes and businesses in Shetland have been given access to faster, more reliable broadband through the Scottish Government’s Reaching 100% (R100) project.
People in Unst, north Yell, Burra and Whalsay, and in the mainland communities of Bigton, Bixter, Cunningsburgh, Sandwick and Scalloway, are said to be the latest to benefit.
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