UN event will be told of 'huge financial hit' from 200-mile round trips for healthcare
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A women’s healthcare campaigner will tell a United Nations event about the financial impact felt by people from the far north who need to travel to Inverness for appointments.
Kirsteen Campbell, chairperson of North Highland Women’s Wellbeing Hub (NHWWH), has been invited to take part in an online discussion on Eradicating Poverty in Scotland being hosted by Edinburgh-based UN House Scotland.
She will speak about healthcare poverty, giving examples of the cost pressures facing those who are expected to make a round trip of 200 miles or more for appointments that in some cases can be as short as 10 minutes.
UN House Scotland is a charitable organisation dedicated to the mission and values of the United Nations. It is organising the round-table event on Tuesday, October 17, to mark International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
It comes as NHWWH has strengthened its team with four new committee members.
Mrs Campbell said this week she is "delighted and very honoured" to be asked to participate.
"The North Highland Women's Wellbeing Hub has been working really hard with human rights organisations to push for service improvements for women in the north for quite some time," she said. "This is an amazing opportunity to highlight Caithness and issues we are facing.
"Caithness has huge areas of deprivation and times are harder than ever before for many. This is an area that our secretary Claire Clark is very passionate about and challenges NHS Highland around the implications.
"Claire rightly points out that to attend hospital appointments over 100 miles away you have to have money in the first place. Mileage is reimbursed at just 17p per mile, then you are deducted £10 if you are not on benefits.
"Should you require to stay in Inverness you are only reimbursed at £50 per night. Inverness is one of the most expensive cities to stay in.
"Looking on booking.com for tonight [Wednesday], the cheapest hotel is £150. That can be a huge financial hit.
"Then you need to add on food. Hidden costs can be childcare and/or pet care.
"If you were unfortunate to get a punctured tyre or to chip a windscreen it can be a very costly trip.
"The bus doesn't go south after midday and it doesn't come north any later than 16:50. The train can be such a long journey.
"Then there's the loss of precious annual leave days which should be used for rest and relaxation. Those with long-term health conditions can often be fatigued for days after travel.
"There are so many implications. We need to see more clinics return to Caithness General Hospital.
"It isn't fair to have this much impact for what is often a 10-minute appointment."
Last week Mrs Campbell and NHWWH vice-chairperson Rebecca Wymer joined the Young Women's Movement as guest speakers, talking about empowering young women to become advocates for themselves and possible future campaigners for change.
"That was an amazing and inspiring session," Mrs Campbell said.
She added: "We welcome Aimee Millington from Caithness, Aleksandra Czech-Seklecka from Inverness, Sophie Manson from Ross-shire and Lynn Doherty from Ross-shire into our committee.
"We are delighted to see our committee grow. We have achieved so much in such a short time – we cannot wait to see what the next year has in store with more amazing women to help."
