Parents of babies who are patients in Raigmore Hospital's Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) now have access to a two-bedroom house on the Inverness hospital site, allowing parents to be close to the hospital whilst their newborn baby is in the unit. Previously mothers were kept in a hospital bed and often the father could not be accommodated.
Health Minister Nicola Sturgeon took to the slopes with school children to highlight the importance of being prepared for winter. The group braved the chill of a snowy winter wonderland at the SNO!zone Scotland centre in Glasgow's Xscape, to encourage everyone to take a few simple steps to ensure they can take care of themselves and their families and have their own "wonderful" festive period this year.
Antibiotics are a precious resource that we risk losing within a generation if we do not safeguard their use. This is the message from Black Isle GP Dr Gail Haddock, who is calling for much better use of antibiotics as part European Antibiotic Awareness Day.
Progress on the future provision of Primary Schools in Wick has been outlined this week by The Highland Council. Earlier this month on 10 November, members of The Highland Council's Education, Culture and Sport Committee heard the outcomes of statutory consultations on the proposed amalgamation of Hillhead Primary School and North Primary School and the proposed amalgamation of Pulteneytown Academy Primary and South Primary School in Wick.
The Convener of The Highland Council Councillor Sandy Park, who is Chairman of the Caithness and North Sutherland Regeneration Advisory Board, has welcomed the NDA announcement that Babcock Dounreay Partnership is the preferred bidder in the competition to become the new PBO for Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd. He said: "We want to work with the partnership to help diversify the economy of Caithness and North Sutherland.
Consultation begins on phase 2 of consultation on Inverness City West Link Road Project. Consultation begins today (Wednesday) to gauge public opinion on the eight options being considered by The Highland Council for the Inverness City Trunk Road Project - West Link, which will provide a new transport link from the Southern Distributor Road at Dores Road to the A82 trunk road via a fixed link across the River Ness and the Caledonian Canal.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (November, 22nd) sold 94 prime cattle at its Christmas Show & Sale sponsored by The Royal Bank of Scotland, John M. Munro Butchers, MacRae & Dick Landrover Centre, Highland Industrial Supplies, Highland Tractors, and Scot JCB and judged by Mr.
Forever Fuels Ltd has announce they will commence to produce wood pellets to supply the increasing demand for alternative fuels in Caithness and Scotland. Forever Fuels is a subsidiary of Summerleaze who already has interests in wood pellet production in other parts of the UK.
People in the Highlands are invited to find out more about, and have an opportunity to have their say on the development of Planning for Integration of health, education and social care services in the area provided by NHS Highland and The Highland Council. At three public meetings in Helmsdale (30 November), Inverness (1 December) and Fort William (7 December), Jan Baird, Planning for Integration, Transitions Director will explain how, from 1 April 2012, staff are being brought together into integrated teams to work with children and families and with people who use community care services.
A £3 million investment project upgrading renewable energy facilities in the Outer Hebrides has been completed. The recladding of the 12,000 square metre fabrication building at Arnish Point will allow the tenants, BiFab, to grow their already important position in the renewables and heavy engineering sectors.
Week commencing 21st November 2011 Energy: Along with a number of other stakeholders, I attended two events this week related to the development of renewable energy. The first was the public consultation on the proposed Orkney-Caithness subsea cable link.
The Highland Council has today (Monday) published on its web site: www.highland.gov.uk a notice of election seeking nomination of candidates to serve on the 19 Community Councils in the Highlands which were forced to disband from Wednesday 16 November as the result of not attracting sufficient nominations at the first time of calling. The deadline for nominations is 4 pm on Friday 9 December.
Does your business pride itself on impeccable customer care, outstanding visitor experiences or brilliant creative campaigns? If the answer is yes, then it's time for you to enter the Scottish Thistle Awards. The Scottish Thistle Awards, which are run by VisitScotland, celebrate excellence and quality within the tourism industry.
Like something out of the Tom Cruise movie War of the Worlds, the Kuka robot has a very important job to do. The standard industrial robot, built exactly the same as a typical car assembly line robot, will play an integral part in the demolition process of Dounreay's iconic fast reactor.
Please see the following information about low carbon transport loans which you may find useful: "Don't miss out on transport loans of up to £50,000 that are being offered by the Energy Saving Trust for a limited time only. Funded by Transport Scotland, all organisations in Scotland interested in making their travel arrangements more sustainable can apply, including government, private sector businesses, community organisations and the public and voluntary sectors.
Project expected to support thousands of jobs and generate millions for regional economy. [A photograph is attached.
The Be the Boss scheme for ex-service personnel is being expanded to include all Service-leavers. The initiative offers business start-up training, grants and loans up to £30,000 as well as mentoring.
Residents in Orkney, Caithness and North Sutherland are being invited to evening talks to hear the latest news on the Pentland Firth and Orkney waters projects, the first commercial wave and tidal stream energy schemes in the world. The talks follow public exhibitions hosted by The Crown Estate in November 2010, which were attended by over 700 people, and are being held to give an update on progress over the last year.
The Shetland Times ran a story on 16th November 2011 that shows the offshore energy industry is making leaps and bounds towards interconnecting the country. Change of plan makes windfarm grid connection much cheaper.
At the meeting of The Highland Council's TEC Services Committee last week, Members had an early opportunity to discuss the Scottish Government consultation on rail services that was announced two days ago. Although a full response to the 80 page consultation will be considered by the TECS Committee in January, the chairman, Councillor John Laing, welcomed the opportunity today to raise this important issue for the Highlands with members.
