Disabled Wick woman left distressed by overnight service cancellation – 'it's a lifeline having carers coming out during the night to help you'
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A severely disabled Wick woman has condemned NHS Highland for ditching an overnight service run from Pulteney House that she describes as a lifeline.
The woman, who did not wish to be named, said the East Caithness Community Overnight Care Service runs from 10pm and 7am and had been popular with patients across Wick and Thurso but was suddenly cancelled this month.
"I'd been told the funding was coming through and it was going to carry on but in the last couple of weeks, just out of the blue, they told the staff they were finished on the 31st of December.
"They only phoned me yesterday [Monday, December 19] to say the service was finishing. There are quite a few people using the service who are disabled and have health problems and it's a lifeline having carers coming out during the night to help you."
The woman said she has MS and the personal care plan that was being provided involved NHS staff visiting her throughout the night, sometimes on more than one occasion. She has carers visiting during the day but the night service was of great benefit for her and her son.
"It's been a lifeline for me and a lot of other people. It's quite disheartening for the staff at Christmas too as they could have been applying for other jobs.
She says the MS is so debilitating that she needs help to walk to the bathroom and though she has a son at home she says he has chronic health issues as well.
"They come out and give people their medication and it's a help for the families as well. Now they're all left high and dry. The carers would go from here [Wick] over to Thurso and all over the place.
"Last time I was in hospital was May and I've been in quite a few times before that. I've been using this service since May [2022] and it's been really helping me.
She agreed that the service has been helping her lead a more normal life
"The way they've done it is sneaky – especially for the staff who could have been looking for other jobs. This service is badly needed and they've got it in other areas and I'm sure they've tried to stop it for them as well. It keeps people out of hospital."
She says the service was originally for her son "to see how he was and come over to support him" but he never needed it. She called it one night and the carers came over to support her own needs and then came on a fairly regular basis.
She also claims that two bedrooms were "added on to Pulteney House" this year specifically for the scheme. "The two bedrooms were for overnight care for people like me who might [otherwise] have had to go to hospital."
A NHS spokesperson told the paper: "The East Caithness Community Overnight Care Service has been a useful pilot and we appreciate that the service has been valued by those who have received it. Changes will be made to the team to enable us to provide a service in the area for those remaining in need of care at home.
"Therefore the pilot service will not continue beyond its designated test period."
After contacting far north MP Jamie Stone about the issue, she was sent a letter from his office saying that he had written to the chief executive of NHS Highland and when he was in receipt of a response he would be back in touch with her.
Mr Stone told the paper: "I'll do everything in my power to help. I think we need to take a wider look at what's happening with health in the far north and need to get into it big-time as I'm hearing this more and more."
After being told the NHS Highland response, the MS sufferer said: "They think it's okay to just drop the service and the staff who have all done a really good job. This has kept me out of hospital and what a difference it's made to me. What can you do though? It must be because of all the cutbacks."
She added: "It has to be tackled though because you can't let things like this carry on. They'll think they can roll over everybody and the staff as well. It's just ridiculous."
