Mrs. Molly Baikie

NAG's vice-chairperson Molly Baikie, a former manager at Caithness General Hospital, added: "It has taken two-and-a-half years to get this far, the health board has spent an awful lot of money in the process, and now at last they are listening to the people of Caithness."

North Action Group's Molly Baikie, a retired support services manager at Caithness General, believes there is more than enough demand to justify a scanner being installed at the hospital."It literally takes ten minutes to carry out a scan, but for people up here it's going to take a full day to travel up and down to Inverness, whether they go by private car or public transport, " she said.

Mrs Baikie said that, after a stroke, a prompt CT scan is essential to establish the extent and range of any brain damage."Doctors talk about a 60-minute window when an assessment can be done and treatment started to give the patient the best possible outcome.If you have a frail patient who is being transported to Raigmore and back for a scan, it's possible they might not survive the journey, " she said.

Mrs Baikie said the argument is exactly the same as that used in the successful campaign to persuade NHS Highland to retain roundthe-clock consultant cover at the hospital's maternity unit.

She is still sore over the rejection of the trust's offer to gift a scanner, but believes the health authority now need to acknowledge the pressing need for a scanner at Wick.

Caithness and Northern Sutherland Health Forum has also been prominent in pushing the project.
...
While promoting the benefits of a scanner at Wick, Mrs Craig was unwilling to go as far as Mrs Baikie in claiming its introduction could prevent deaths.