Council Leader praises those delivering essential services

Council Leader, Margaret Davidson praises those delivering essential services in a statement:

As we approach this Easter weekend, which will be very different from what we are all used to, I very much wanted to take this opportunity to share a few thoughts as we in the Highlands continue to deal with this Corona virus pandemic.

We are facing a worrying and difficult time and the restrictions on our normal lives and activities are hard to bear, but they are very necessary if we are to play our part in saving lives.  I know it’s tough going and that’s why I am so profoundly grateful for your willingness to accept these restrictions to daily life.

It has been the case that in the most difficult times, the very best in the character of individuals and communities comes to the fore.

I know this is has been very much the case across the Highlands. I have been truly humbled by the community response. There are over 240 groups across Highland helping those that need help. This is astonishing and they are delivering food, prescriptions, and keeping in touch with individuals who will need to stay in isolation for weeks to come.

There is a real sense of us all pulling together in this emergency to do the very best we can for each other, to look out and care for each other.

I want to express my sincere gratitude to those working in NHS Highland to our home carers and to those that work in our care homes and residential homes for young people. You are facing the most unprecedented challenges, we value and appreciate all you are doing to care for those who are frail or unwell or need your ongoing support.

And I never forget those who continue to deliver the essential services which sustain and enable our communities to function. Those that empty our bins, our cremation and burial workers and those that respond to emergency needs for children and adults and many more.  We would be lost without your service to our communities.

Keep in touch with the news release on the Council’s website, use the helpline…almost 3000 calls have come through already, and you can ask for advice on a range of issues, business , social care , finance. You can offer to volunteer or ask for help. 0 300 303 1362

We are very conscious of the need to look at how we can best help and support communities and businesses to get back up on their feet again and we need to think about how we can engage with you to best do that.

As elected councillors, and your representatives, we are here for you, and we welcome you getting in touch to talk about the very real needs of today and to your ideas about how we all get back onto our feet again.

 Thank you again for the many acts of kindness that are happening daily to neighbours, strangers, friends and colleagues. Our sense of community is very real. I know this is a legacy that we can build on in the years to come.

My final wish for you and your loved ones,  have a safe Easter and lets all look forward to a time when our families and communities can get back together again.

https://youtu.be/r84YoFU2-_U

14 Apr 2020