Leanchoil can still be of service
A FORMER serviceman has proposed an alternative use for the local hospital. Forres Community Council (FCC) is open to ideas for Leanchoil, a facility that has served the town over the last 125 years, recently closed by NHS Grampian until a decision is made about its long-term future.
Royal British Legion Scotland Forres Branch chairman, Eric Duguid, believes the building would be an ideal place to provide facilities for veterans.
He said: "There is a need to find new and innovative ways of working to reduce serious stress in veterans and Leanchoil is ideally situated for such a project. It could be set up as a charity. The hospital could be used for respite, rehabilitation and as a holiday home for our service and ex-service personnel, carers and families."
He added: "A general manager would have to be installed and funding sought to cover wages. Staffing, depending on needs, could be by volunteers, possibly from nursing banks. Military instructors may be available for outdoor activities."
Mr Duguid pointed out that many of the facilities required are already in-house but much of the building would need to be updated.
"Funding is a major issue," he admitted, "but agencies such as Help for Heroes were set up to support veterans by way of accessible accommodation for rehabilitation and wellbeing. Other veterans’ agencies such as Combat Stress may help. Erskine could adopt it as an annex to their hospitals in the central belt. Local contractors like Robertsons and Springfield may be willing to give some of their time for such a worthy project, as well as more local, smaller contractors."
Leanchoil would attract service personnel and families due to its location, providing a base for activities including canoeing, skiing, mountain climbing, hill walking, golf, and fishing.
In turn, Mr Duguid believes veterans staying at the facility would build better links between the services and the local community through personal visits.
FCC chairman, Graham Hilditch, confirmed the group was considering Mr Duguid’s proposal.
He said: "We have had a number of excellent ideas regarding the future use of Leanchoil hospital. We plan to hold a community engagement in the near future to encourage and discuss proposals with a view to sourcing funding, to engage professionals to investigate the condition of the property and viability of ideas that come forward. At that point we can look at the feasibility of a community asset transfer."
