10th November 2026
After almost ten years of discussions, consultations and promises, communities in Caithness are still waiting to discover what will happen to their healthcare services.
The future of proposed health hubs in Wick and Thurso, together with improvements to maternity facilities at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, is becoming increasingly uncertain. Yet NHS Highland has still not provided the clarity that communities deserve.
For people living in Caithness, this is becoming a familiar and frustrating story. Plans are announced, consultations take place, professional teams are appointed and expectations are raised. Then progress slows, funding becomes uncertain and the timetable disappears.
The concern now is whether some of these projects will ever be delivered.
Almost ten years of waiting
The history goes back to 2016, when NHS Highland downgraded the consultant-led maternity unit at Caithness General Hospital in Wick to a midwife-led service.
That decision caused considerable opposition locally. It meant that most women requiring consultant-led maternity care would have to travel to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, a journey of more than 100 miles.
The decision has never been forgotten by many families in Caithness. Campaigners have continued to challenge the loss of services, arguing that distance, geography and the difficulties of travelling during pregnancy create particular problems for women living in the far north.
By 2018 and 2019, NHS Highland was consulting on a wider redesign of health and social care in Caithness. The proposals included new community health and care hubs in Wick and Thurso and refurbishment of Caithness General Hospital.
The intention was to modernise local healthcare, bring services together and improve the way patients received care closer to home.
There was extensive community engagement. People were asked for their views and suggestions, and the proposals were developed further.
However, almost a decade after the original maternity changes and several years after the health hub consultations, there is still no firm timetable for delivering the promised improvements.
What happened to the Wick and Thurso health hubs?
The two proposed community health hubs were intended to be important parts of the future healthcare system in Caithness.
They were not simply building projects. They were intended to provide a more integrated approach to healthcare, bringing together different services and making better use of facilities and staff.
For an area with an ageing population, considerable distances between communities and difficulties recruiting healthcare professionals, modern community facilities could make a real difference.
In June 2026, the Scottish Government announced progress on a number of NHS capital investment projects across Scotland. However, the Wick and Thurso health hubs were not included.
This prompted further questions about whether Caithness was being left behind.
There had been some progress with planning and design work, including the appointment of design consultants in 2023. But that is a long way from having confirmed construction funding and a date when work will begin.
Recent indications have suggested that completion could be pushed towards 2030. Even that should not be regarded as a firm commitment without confirmation from NHS Highland.
Audit Scotland confirms the financial problem
The financial difficulties are real and should not be ignored.
Audit Scotland's annual audit report on NHS Highland for 2023/24 explained how Scottish Government instructions following the December 2023 budget had restricted development spending on new capital projects.
Health boards were instructed to concentrate available resources on maintaining existing buildings and essential infrastructure rather than progressing new developments.
The impact was significant. Audit Scotland identified the Caithness and Lochaber redesign, the Raigmore maternity unit and other projects as being affected.
The subsequent NHS Highland 2024/25 annual audit report was even more explicit. It identified the Caithness Health and Care Hubs and refurbishment of maternity facilities at Raigmore as projects on hold.
NHS Highland received £16.4 million in capital funding during 2024/25, but this was directed towards priorities including fire safety works at Raigmore, refurbishment at Grantown Health Centre and essential equipment.
This illustrates the difficult choices facing the health board.
However, explaining why projects were delayed is not the same as explaining what will happen to them.
Raigmore maternity improvements matter to Caithness
The proposed improvements to maternity facilities at Raigmore deserve particular attention from people in Caithness.
Since the downgrade of maternity services at Caithness General, Raigmore has become the principal destination for most women requiring hospital births in the area.
That makes the quality and capacity of its maternity facilities particularly important to families living in the far north.
The refurbishment was intended to improve facilities for mothers, babies and staff. Yet this project has also been caught up in the restrictions on NHS capital investment.
There is a wider question here about the consequences of centralising services.
When services are moved away from smaller communities, the hospitals receiving those patients need sufficient capacity and suitable facilities. Otherwise, the problems experienced in rural areas are simply transferred elsewhere.
For women in Caithness, the journey to Inverness is already a considerable undertaking. Improvements at Raigmore will not remove that geographical difficulty, but modern and properly equipped maternity facilities are essential.
The campaign for better maternity provision in Caithness has also continued. In 2025, local campaigners took their concerns to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, seeking greater recognition of the difficulties faced by women in remote communities.
This demonstrates how deeply the issue is felt locally.
Why is there still so little clarity?
Financial pressures are understandable. NHS Highland has to maintain existing hospitals, pay staff, purchase equipment and provide essential services within a limited budget.
But there is a difference between a project being delayed and a project effectively disappearing from the investment programme.
Communities need to know whether the Wick and Thurso hubs remain approved developments, whether their business cases are complete, whether funding is being sought and when construction might realistically begin.
They also need an explanation of what is happening to the Raigmore maternity refurbishment.
If the original proposals are no longer affordable, NHS Highland should say so and explain what alternatives are being considered.
Keeping projects on a list of future ambitions is not a substitute for delivering them.
The wider problem of rural healthcare
There is a danger that rural communities will increasingly find themselves at the back of the queue for investment.
Larger population centres naturally generate greater demand for NHS facilities, but that does not mean rural communities have less need.
Indeed, the costs of providing healthcare in remote areas can be greater because of geography, transport difficulties and the need to maintain services over a wide area.
Caithness has particular challenges. Recruitment and retention of healthcare professionals, an ageing population and the distance from larger hospitals all make local provision important.
Modern community facilities could help attract staff and improve the integration of services.
There is also an economic dimension. Good healthcare provision is part of what makes an area attractive to younger families, employers and people considering moving to the Highlands.
If public services are continually reduced or promised improvements never materialise, the consequences extend beyond the NHS itself.
NHS Highland owes Caithness some answers
There are several straightforward questions that deserve public answers.
[/b]Are the Wick and Thurso health hubs still going ahead?
What is the latest estimated cost of each development, and how much funding has actually been secured?
Has the refurbishment of Caithness General Hospital been affected in the same way?
What is the current position on the Raigmore maternity refurbishment?
Are there revised completion dates, or have these projects effectively been postponed indefinitely?
And if the original plans cannot be delivered, what alternative arrangements will be made?
NHS Highland's leadership and the Scottish Government's Health Secretary should be able to provide a clear account of the position.
The people of Caithness have been patient. They have participated in consultations, contributed ideas and waited while plans were developed and revised.
They should not have to spend another five years wondering whether the promised improvements will ever happen.
Nearly ten years is a long time in the life of a community. It is time NHS Highland stopped leaving people guessing and explained exactly what the future holds for healthcare in Caithness.
Earlier
26 June 2026
Where Have the Wick and Thurso Health Hubs Gone?