GUEST speaker at the AGM of the Highland Senior Citizens Network (HSCN) in Dr Blacks Hall was Karen Burnett of the Highland Health Council.
In 1975 when local health councils were first set up to be bridges between the Highland Health Board and the public, there were eight such councils in the Highlands. Over the years these have been whittled down and consolidated into one pan-Highland health council serving the whole area, with staff being cut from seven in 1997 to just three.

Now there are plans in the pipeline to make one health council for the whole of Scotland with local offices. Set for October, these changes are part of a wide reorganisation in the NHS with the various Highland health trusts becoming one body.
The health council’s role has also somewhat changed over the years and is currently to listen to the public and monitor health authority strategies.

Ms Burnett reported that in the last year they had dealt with 302 enquiries/complaints; they had made 200 recommendations to the health authorities and 70% of these had been acted on. “Public involvement in the new organisation is going to be more important than ever,” Ms Burnett said. Commented one HSCN member, “I just wish sometimes the Government would stop changing things!”