Charity reprieve is 'victory for people power'

A REPRIEVE for a charity which provides lifeline services for blind and partially sighted people in the north was described today as "a real victory for people power".

Rhoda Grant, a Labour MSP for the Highlands and Islands, is delighted that a campaign to save Sight Action has been successful.

The charity, which has a presence in Wick and Thurso, had been told by NHS Highland it would be unable to continue supporting users in the region due to funding cuts.

Sight Action started a campaign to save its service which includes a range of support for visually impaired people through an agreement with NHS Highland and Highland Council.

That prompted Highland MSP Kate Forbes to ask Scotland's health secretary Jeane Freeman to look at the case and there followed a "very constructive meeting" where NHS Highland, Highland Council and Sight Action agreed a way for the service to continue.

Mrs Grant joined the protests at the health board’s headquarters to underline the importance of the service and tabled a motion for a debate at the Scottish Parliament on the issue.

She is "delighted" a solution has been found but will be watching the situation closely. She pointed out that the Inverness-based charity supports 2700 blind and low-sighted people and has been running since 2008 under contract to the health board.

Mrs Grant said: "This has been a very frightening time for Sight Action staff and clients and I am so relieved that NHS Highland has taken pause to listen to the concerns. I shudder to think what might have happened to the blind or partially blind people for whom Sight Action is their lifeline.

"The important thing is that the campaign for Sight Action to continue delivering the contract appears to have been successful. I am delighted. This is a real victory for people power."

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