Rural health: Canadian example

Scotland will look west to its Canadian cousins for lessons about rural health.

International medical experts are converging on Inverness and Ullapool this week to exchange ideas as part of the inaugural Scottish Rural Health Education Week.

The event is jointly organised by partners including the University of the Highlands and Islands, the University of Aberdeen and NHS Highland.

Chairman William McKerrow said: “In Scotland, we face similar challenges to our partners in northern Europe and Canada.

“We want to collaborate with key experts to emulate their successes in the field of health education in remote and rural settings.”

Clinicians and academics have been sharing ideas with Canada and Scandinavia.

UHI deputy principal Crichton Lang said: “We’re working with the universities of Dundee and St Andrews to facilitate recruitment and delivery from the Highlands and Islands to the new Scottish graduate entry medical programme.”