The Evolution of the Highland Hospital: With special reference to the Black Isle and Easter Ross

Speakers: Professor Steve Leslie and Mr Jim Leslie

Thursday 20th November at 7.30pm in the Cromarty West Church Hall

Jim Leslie is a Geography graduate of Aberdeen University and was Head of Geography at Nairn Academy for over 17 years until 1991 when he was appointed Adviser in Social Subjects for Highland Council and, some years later, an Education Manager in Ross and Cromarty.  His life long interest in history encouraged him to complete the Scottish History Distance Learning degree course with Dundee University.  He is now semi retired and, as the main researcher in the History of Highland’s Hospitals Project, is working on its fourth regional booklet on the history of our local hospitals.

Steve Leslie is a Consultant Cardiologist in NHS Highland and Honorary Professor of Cardiology at the University of Stirling.  He was born in Aberdeen and grew up in Nairn. After 19 years of training in Edinburgh he returned north to take up his current post. He has been involved in establishing a coronary artery stenting service, the most remote in the UK, and he is clinical lead for the community base heart failure service. As well as the History of Highland Hospitals, his research interests include heart failure, cardiac rehabilitation and the equitable provision of cardiac care to remote and rural patients. 

In their talk, Steve and Jim Leslie will outline the origins and development of institutions in Highland which delivered hospital services – poorhouses; fever hospitals; voluntary and endowed hospitals; maternity hospitals, mental hospitals and military hospitals - and will look at the ways physical and economic constraints were overcome with innovations such as the Black Isle hospital van in the early 20th century.  Although in Easter Ross and the Black Isle some have been small and temporary, over the years there have been at least 19 establishments which could be called a hospital.