Recruitment and Retention of Health Care Providers in Remote Rural areas
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- Remoteness challenge
- Scottish Government 8 Fold Urban-Rural Classification Map, 2007-08
IntroductionThis report provides baseline information about the Western Isles of Scotland. It forms the basis for comparisons in the area of recruitment and retention of Health Care providers. The report includes general information about the islands including; geography and demography, the organisation of the health care services and health care staff 2 Geography 
The Western Isles is a chain of 150 miles of sparsely populated islands in the Atlantic Ocean 30 miles off the Northwest coast of Scotland with 280 townships. The archipelago of Islands is also known as the Outer Hebrides and officially called by the Gaelic name, Na h-Eileanan Siar. The main islands are - from north to south - Lewis, Harris, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist and Barra. The islands have an extensive coastline, approximately 2,500km in length, and there are many sea lochs, bays and inlets. The settlements on Lewis are on or near the coasts or sea lochs, being particularly concentrated on the north east coast. The interior of Lewis is a large area of moorland from which peat is traditionally cut for fuel. The southern part of Lewis, adjoining Harris, is more mountainous with inland lochs. Stornoway is the administrative capital of the Outer Hebrides and located on the east coast of Lewis. Stornoway is also the main transport hub with an airport, ferry terminal and bus services on the Outer Hebrides. The Outer Hebrides have a unique culture and tradition. Most communities in the Outer Hebrides use the Scottish Gaelic language. With only 26,000 inhabitants and 8.5 people per square kilometre the Western Isles are one of the most sparsely populated areas in Scotland. There are 12 populated islands in the Outer Hebrides: Lewis and Harris 19,918, South Uist 1,818, North Uist 1,271, Benbecula 1,219, Barra 1,078, Berneray 130, Scalpay 322, Great Bernera 233, Grimsay 201, Eriskay 133, Vatersay 94, Baleshare 49. Climate The Western Isles have a marine climate dominated by ‘North Atlantic Drift’, with only slight temperature changes throughout the year. Winters are rarely cold and snow is almost non-existent. Climatically the dominant features are wind and rain, December being the wettest month of the year. In contrast to the winters, when the days are quite short, in the summer the actual daylight hours are extremely long with lots of daylight with barely two hours of darkness midsummer due to the northerly latitude of the Islands. Travel The Western Isles are accessed from mainland Scotland by ferries and airplanes. There are ferries from Uig on The Isle of Skye to Tarbert on The Isle of Harris, from mainland Scotland, Ullapool to Stornoway and from Oban to Barra and Oban to South Uist. There are airports at Stornoway in Lewis, Benbecula and Barra, with flights to and from Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness on the Scottish mainland and inter island flights to Barra and Benbecula.
Off Island transport is dependent on good weather with the Islands often “cut off” in winter.
The effects upon both service delivery and many aspects of the health status of the population from the islands demographic and socio-economic position are inextricably linked to the geographic challenges faced. This is felt in terms of both the Western Isles remote islands status and the overwhelmingly rural nature of its communities. Scottish Government 8 Fold Urban-Rural Classification Map, 2007-08 
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