TEN YEARS AGO Friday 3 January 2014 Top Royal Salute honour for Lochgilphead piper
A military piper from Lochgilphead recently had the honour of performing the Royal Salute at Edinburgh Castle.
Private Grant Roberts, who is a member of the Pipes and Drums of the Royal Scots 1 Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (1 SCOTS), performed at the occasion, which marked the 65th birthday of Prince Charles.
The 22-year-old, who is a former pupil of Lochgilphead High School, said: ‘1 SCOTS which is based at Dreghorn Barracks in Edinburgh were deeply honoured to provide the Royal Guard and the Pipers and Drums at the 21-Gun Royal Salute.
‘The Royal Salute provided another occasion for the soldiers of 1 SCOTS to display their professionalism and pride in conducting such an honour.’ the post which has been vacant for more than 18 months, stating it is now ‘a more attractive position’.
The GP vacancy had been advertised in the British Medical Journal in April 2012 but there was little interest in the post as the doctor was required to provide out-of-hours cover seven days a week.
NHS Highland this week told The Advertiser plans were under way to create a working model that would see out of hours services shared with health professionals at Mid Argyll Community Hospital.
The renewed push to find a GP for Inveraray comes after the Scottish Government awarded NHS Highland more than £1 million to find new ways of providing 24-hour care in rural areas.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the NHS said it was willing to work with potential candidates to create a more flexible approach to providing round-the-clock care in Inveraray, Furnace and Cairndow.
‘It would be our intention to work closely with the successful candidate to meet the needs of the local community and to also make it a more attractive post for them,’ said the spokesman.
‘We will be looking at a whole range of options and hope to attract a number of applicants to the position.’
NHS Highland has invited a representative of Inveraray Community Council to sit on an interviewing panel when meeting shortlisted candidates. It is hoped the role will be filled by the summer. 2014: Private Grant Roberts, 22, performed at the Royal Salute at Edinburgh Castle.