Councillor's Column - Dougie McFadzean, December 6 2024

I wasn’t able to go to Port Askaig to watch and listen to the Hebridean Isles as she sailed down the Sound of Islay for the very last time. She has served Islay for about 25 years! 

I have been on that ferry so many times, sometimes as a tourist, sometimes as a police officer with a prisoner, but mostly as an islander travelling to or from home. 

I hope that some bits and pieces from the ‘Heb Isles’ will end up back on Islay at the Museum or elsewhere.  I also hope that the crew find posts on other CalMac vessels as they are an excellent bunch.

We’ve also had the first Labour Government budget, a few weeks ago now, and we are still waiting to see what this will mean for council funding next year, and also what it will mean for the Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP). 

In Argyll and Bute our HSCP has been spending over the allocated budget because of many issues, but significantly due to necessary spending on agency staff and their accommodation to allow us to fulfil our obligations and keep people safe. 

Our aging population and lack of affordable housing plays an enormous part in this.  Key workers who can’t find a house often come to me for help, and it’s very difficult to source somewhere to live. 

Our care homes, our care at home services and our NHS require staff living and working in Argyll and Bute.  If you are interested in a rewarding career in health and social care, please look at the website myjobscotland.gov.uk. 

I recently visited Dunoon as part of my efforts to visit our HSCP facilities across Argyll and Bute, where I was shown around Cowal Community Hospital and the Struan Lodge Care Home.

This visit was arranged to help me understand the challenges our brilliant staff face and the opportunities available to make things better.

 I was very impressed by the enthusiasm and caring attitude of all the staff I met and spoke with. Following on from that visit I have been involved in many strategic planning meetings with colleagues in the HSCP. These meetings can be very challenging during these difficult financial times.

In the coming weeks I’ll be visiting Gigha, Jura and various areas on the Kintyre Peninsula, trying to help my constituents with wide and varied issues. I’m so lucky to live in such a beautiful area, although the travelling logistics can be challenging!

This will be my last column of 2024, so I want to take the chance to wish you all the happiest of Christmases and a peaceful and prosperous New Year.  All the best for 2025.