MSP makes case for an Orkney heart failure nurse

Speaking during a debate in parliament yesterday, Tuesday, local MSP Liam McArthur drew attention to the fact that Orkney is currently the only health board area without a specialist heart failure nurse.

Mr McArthur urged health ministers to engage with the local health board to establish how this situation could be addressed and improvements made to the service provided to those in the islands who suffer from heart failure.

He said: “Thanks to British Heart Foundation funding, Orkney enjoyed the services of a specialist heart failure nurse up until 2010. When this funding came to an end, the post was allowed to lapse and now Orkney is the only board area without such provision.

Mr McArthur added that while NHS Orkney was working closely with the local heart support group to improve services, the health authority’s plans did not include the recruitment of a heart failure nurse in the near future.

“As a result, Orkney will continue to be out of step with other health boards and I felt it was important to raise my concerns with the minister to see what more can be done to address this shortcoming,” he said.