Caithness facing 'death by a thousand cuts', says mental health campaigner
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A Caithness mental health campaigner has claimed the county is facing "death by a thousand cuts" and blamed politicians of all parties for not doing enough.
Steven Szyfelbain says the pause on new capital projects by NHS boards, putting the £80 million Caithness health redesign on hold, is the latest in a series of setbacks for the area.
In an open letter to Humza Yousaf, Mr Szyfelbain claims the only thing keeping the community together is the "indomitable spirit" of Caithness people. He called on the First Minister to devote himself to restoring the county's fortunes.
Mr Szyfelbain is the founder and lead advocate of the campaign group No More Lost Souls, which he started in 2020 in response to the mental health crisis in Caithness. He is also a member of Caithness Disabled Access Panel.
In his letter to the First Minister, Mr Szyfelbain wrote: "You are now at the forefront of leadership for Scotland. Thus it is with you that the power lies to halt the destruction of the community and county that has seen many souls contribute to the society you now serve.
"It is no hyperbole to say that Caithness is being bled to death by a thousand cuts – crumbling roads infrastructure, schools falling down around our heads, our town centres empty and ruinous.
"No mother can welcome her child here, no soul who suffers can get treatment without an inhumane journey on transport that should have been decommissioned in the last century. Our young are dying by suicide rather than face a future that grows ever bleaker here.
"All bear the blame, not just Tory and SNP, but Labour, Lib Dem and the Greens. All have turned their backs on us.
"The only thing keeping us together is the indomitable spirit of our community, one of the finest in Scotland and the world. Our kindness, compassion and integrity should be a hallmark which others aspire to."
Mr Szyfelbain pointed to the county's experience with heavy snow last week that saw a lengthy closure of the A9 with a number of motorists stranded.
"Instead of our elected officials, it was the people of Caithness coming together to open their doors to stuck travellers, locals using vehicles to transport others, the very same clearing paths and offering food and comfort," he wrote.
"We have the highest rate of taxation in the UK but the lowest level of services. Something doesn't add up, and I am prepared to say on behalf of the 2900-plus who follow No More Lost Souls that we are beyond aggrieved – especially upon learning that we are to receive no further funding for the NHS hubs we were promised long ago, whilst our taxes are frittered on matters beyond the county gates.
"I am a son of Caithness, not Inverness. Not Glasgow, or Edinburgh.
"It is time you devoted yourself absolutely and completely to the restoration of this county, before we become consigned to history as the site of the second Highland Clearances."
