Former dentists to fill in housing gap?

NHS Orkney has announced radical new proposals to turn one of its disused buildings into a space to accommodate staff overnight.

With £128,000 of set-aside funding to play with, and a bit of a scale and polish, the former King Street dental clinic could soon be transformed into flats to house health authority employees.

Housing — or the lack thereof — has been a hot topic of late, particularly when it comes to those working hard to keep vital services running within our local authority and NHS.

Due to our remote location and ongoing recruitment and retention issues within certain areas, NHS Orkney has found the use of locums and agency staff essential when it comes to keeping our community in good health. But all these non-permanent residents need somewhere to stay — as do permanent employees and those travelling in from the isles to undertake night shifts.

If hopes pan out, King Street could go some way to filling in the gap in housing.

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