The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Wide net cast to fill GP posts in Highlands
Health: Board targets doctors in north of England
Health board bosses in the Highlands have launched a major new drive to recruit GPs to remote areas by targeting northern English cities such as Liverpool and Leeds.
The advertising campaign is focusing on the stunning scenery of the north to fill two dozen vacant posts in rural areas. NHS Highland chief executive Elaine Mead, pictured, said the c a mpaign has generated a positive response.
NHS Highland is targeting doctors from the north of England in a bid to plug recruitment gaps in remote communities.
An illuminated van bearing stunning Highland scenes was driven around the streets of Liverpool during amajor GPs conference in the city last month.
And eye- catching adverts are to appear on buses and roadside billboards in Leeds in the hope that they will attract doctors to the north.
There are currently around two dozen vacant GP positions in rural parts of the Highlands and Islands, with advertising focusing on the north’s stunning scenery as a draw to the area.
NHS Highland said the two campaigns had already resulted in a number of interested inquiries from doctors.
Elaine Mead, NHS Highland’s chief executive, said: “We’ve now decided to be a bit more imaginative in trying to recruit GPs, which is where our Liverpool ‘recruitment van’ and Leeds advertising comes in.”
Leeds was chosen because of its large population and its reputation as a centre of medical excellence.
The marketing campaign is focusing on attracting GPs to Kintyre and Mid
Argyll, Arisaig, Mallaig and the Small Isles in the northwest Highlands.
The Scottish Government has supported the effort with a £1.5million investment.
Cash incentives, including “golden hellos”, may be offered to potential recruits to help them set up in the Highlands.
North MSP Mary Scanlon commended the health board for “thinking outside the box”.
She said:“NHS Highland have come in for a lot of criticism in the past few weeks, quite rightly for their financial mismanagement.
“However, credit where it is due, they have come up with a very innovative approach to dealing with a difficult situation.”
However, Councillor Margaret Davidson said that the health board should have reacted before the situation reached “crisis point”.
She said: “I wish them well with their latest approach but we need to really start growing our own in the Highlands if we are going to make it sustainable in the long run.”