ISLAY JOURNEYS FOR HEALTH AND WELLBEING
Travelling for health and social care on Islay can be difficult and time consuming. Journeys off the island for clinics at Lochgilphead, Campbeltown, Oban and Glasgow are very challenging, particularly when you are not feeling well. It all adds to the stress and the cost of looking after your health.
We currently have three projects which we hope will make things easier.
ISLAY JOURNEYS FOR HEALTH AND WELLBEING
PATIENT TRAVEL FROM ISLAY : WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Each of these projects has its own page on the website
PATIENT TRAVEL SURVEY
ISLAY AND JURA MAY 2025
PATIENT TRAVEL SURVEY MAY 2025
Working with the Argyll and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership, the Islay Medical and Dental Practices and the Jura Medical Practice, we organised a detailed survey to gather information about the journeys that Islay and Jura residents had to make to access medical and dental care both on the islands and to the mainland during May 2025.
We advertised the survey widely across the islands and questionnaires were available in each doctor’s surgery on Islay and Jura, in the Islay and Jura Dental Practice and in Islay Hospital. The Patient Travel Team at Islay Hospital and the reception teams in each practice signposted the survey to patients. The survey was active over a 4 week period and we collected 112 questionnaires which described 51 journeys on Islay and Jura and 61 journeys to the mainland.
We have published the results of the survey in a substantial report accompanied by a detailed contextual discussion, our conclusions and recommendations for the local, regional and national actions which we think are necessary to ameliorate the adverse effects of these journeys which residents describe.
We hope that the report will prompt collaborative work between the Islay and Jura Communities, patients, local third sector organisations, the Argyll and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership, NHS Highland and political representatives to further increase the understanding of the effects that these journeys have on patients and to find ways to improve the experience of the journeys, not only for patients but also for family members, community volunteers, transport providers and NHS staff who are trying to support them.
Other local organisations including Cancer Support Group Islay, Bump to Birth and Islay Seniors have contributed to the Islay Forum for Health and Wellbeing Travel which we have convened to take this work forward.
A pdf of the report can be downloaded by clicking on the link below
ISLAY HOSPITAL NEWSLETTER : WINTER EDITION 2026
The newsletter is published by Argyll and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership. It contains very helpful information for patients who have to travel for health and wellbeing care from Islay and Jura.
Our new voluntary patient transport service, Islay Transport Volunteers, features on the title page. This service provides free assistance for residents who have to travel for health and wellbeing care on Islay and beyond. You can find out more from our dedicated page on this website by clicking here : ISLAY TRAVEL VOLUNTEERS
There is also information about the NHS Scotland service NEAR ME, which aims to provide virtual consultations by phone or internet link for patients who have difficulty travelling or who have to travel long distances. Consultations can be arranged with consultants, specialist nurses and other NHS services and can take place in patient’s homes or in dedicated video consultation rooms at the local hospital.
NEAR ME phone and video consultations are available for Islay and Jura patients and if the care and advice that you need can be provided in this way it can save a lot of time and money which would otherwise be wasted undertaking a long journey to Glasgow or Oban.
If you think that a NEAR ME consultation would work for you then you should not hesitate to get advice from the Islay Medical Practice and from Islay Hospital.
If you would like to read and download the winter edition of the Islay Hospital Newsletter then please click on the link below