West Gills couple’s plea to reinstate ‘vital’ cancer care role in Caithness
A cancer patient from West Gills, Scrabster, says it is “horrendous” that a temporary palliative care nurse role in Caithness is being removed from the service.
NHS Highland said external funding for the position had come to an end but Mike Murdoch, who has been receiving treatment for prostate cancer since early this year, wants to see the “invaluable” role reinstated.
He has been in touch with Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross MP Jamie Stone, who has raised the issue with Fiona Davies, chief executive of NHS Highland.
Mike (67) is disappointed and shocked to hear that the funding is being removed, as he and his wife Anne (70) said the support they received from the nurse locally has made a real difference to them coping with the diagnosis.
Mike said: “I thought the position was vital for myself and for my wife from a mental health side of things.
“I just found it great that she was able to help us deal with everybody else we had to deal with - because we were dealing with Inverness hospital, we were dealing with Wick hospital, we were dealing with the GP.
“It was obviously a new experience to me and my wife - and I’m in a lucky position that I’ve got my wife, but what about others? The nurse was obviously dealing with other patients as well as myself, and what about those who are on their own or more elderly than me?
“For the sake of a position that’s only 18 hours a week, I just think that funding should be reinstated.”
The couple are also concerned that the change will impact on other staff in Caithness and said the face-to-face contact with a trusted individual has helped them cope with the six rounds of chemotherapy Mike has endured so far and the side effects of that.
He said: “You weren’t dealing with switchboards, you were actually dealing with somebody sitting on your couch in your living room.
“My cancer was treatable but not curable, so I’ll be going down the road in the future, most likely having chemotherapy again, and looking forward, it would be nice to still have that position, because you end up having a relationship with the person.
“Cancer is a thing that affects a whole family, it doesn’t just affect the victim.”
Mike now faces radiotherapy at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness followed by the possibility of further chemotherapy, which he has had at Caithness General Hospital in Wick.
Talking about the long journey to Inverness for treatment, he added: “Financially I’ll be able to cope with that but I feel for people who are possibly not in my position. We’re 100 miles away from Raigmore.
“I had six sessions of chemotherapy, I had numerous side effects but there are people who had far worse side effects and lots of people can’t do the six sessions of chemotherapy.
“So, you imagine the nurse going out to see people who are having far worse side effects than me and are possibly older than me, and alone - I think it’s horrendous that they are doing away with that position.”
A spokeswoman for NHS Highland said: “The team in Caithness were successful in securing funding for a year-long part-time post to support the service. That funding has now come to an end and the service will return to the original establishment.
“The extra resource was very useful and we are now exploring from this experience how best to support patients and staff to provide high quality care.
“Changes which have already taken place that will be maintained include ensuring new patients are seen face-to-face, while patients already being cared for are offered phone or Near Me appointments where appropriate.
“We have also upskilled the health care support workers within the service and increased their contracted hours which has helped free up the time of our registered staff.”
