Healthcare Human Rights Defenders demand their right to accessible healthcare

By Lorraine Barrie | March 11, 2025

Where is the accountability and transparency when healthcare budget cuts have life threatening consequences?

“Traumatic births, in transit, no dignity.”

North Highland Healthcare campaigners demanded their human right to accessible healthcare at an online event on Thursday 27^th February. The free event – organised by North Highland Women’s Wellbeing Hub (NHWWH), Making Rights Real and the Scottish Women’s Convention – was open to anyone concerned about healthcare provision.

Attended by 35 people from all over Scotland, NHWWH founder Kirsteen Campbell spoke of their 9-year campaign for the right to accessible healthcare since the downgrading of provision at Wick Hospital. Based on her lived experience, she explained the perilous conditions the whole community faced when trying to access healthcare.

Of particular concern is the lack of access to safe and accessible reproductive and maternity healthcare. A recent Scottish Human Rights Commission’s report found that “more than 14,000 patients per year now have to travel [to Inverness] for routine, emergent, and acute cases, with no risk assessments for patient safety.”

Travelling the equivalent of the distance between Edinburgh and Newcastle in an emergency, or whilst in labour, had led to lifelong health consequences for some Caithness women. Many more live with the trauma of travelling dangerous roads in storm and flood conditions.

“Women don’t feel safe anymore. It’s barbaric. We don’t matter up here. That’s what it feels like.”

The cost of travel and overnight accommodation- not reimbursed fully- leads low-income patients into serious financial difficulty. An overnight hotel stay in Inverness is reimbursed up to £50- and patients have no option but to pay what can be a massive shortfall. Patients are routinely missing appointments because they don’t have the money for public transport or petrol costs.

“Women are the heart of this community. We deserve better”.

The campaign received a message of solidarity from expert and academic Alicia Ely Yamin, who send a video of support for campaigners (note: to see captions for the video, click the three dots and select “Captions”):

Alicia Ely Yamin JD MPH PhD is a Lecturer on Law and the Director of the Global Health and Rights Project at the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology and Bioethics at Harvard Law School. She is known globally for her trans-disciplinary work in relation to economic and social rights, reproductive justice and the right to health. She was the chief consultant to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and drafter of the first guidance on a ‘human rights-based approach to health’ to be adopted by the UN Human Rights Council. Yamin has served on numerous other UN, WHO and other global expert committees. She has edited and authored over a dozen books and UN reports, as well as close to 200 articles in law, policy and public health/medical journals.

Susan McKellar from the Scottish Women’s Convention spoke about meeting Caithness women at their Wick roadshows, listening to women’s experiences. SWC’s reports make sobering reading, highlighting real life examples of human rights violations.

Lorraine Barrie from Making Rights Real spoke about how the right to accessible healthcare was enshrined in international human rights law, and invited a discussion on how individuals and communities could use human rights to hold healthcare providers accountable.

In discussion groups attendees shared their experiences, thoughts and ideas. Most of them had never met before, and came areas including Glasgow, Caithness, North Ayrshire and Moray. There were so many similarities- disabled people, unpaid carers, parents and those with chronic health conditions faced similar barriers whether they lived in the city or rurally. When asked what their biggest healthcare issue was, answers included:

Access to healthcare, appointments, specialists, cost etc.

Inaccessibility and inequality of healthcare for disabled people

Primary health care and access to adult mental health issues

Support for unpaid Carers, especially those with disabilities/long-term health conditions

Centralisation of healthcare through stealth and no one to go to to complain to/no advocacy

Over prescription of medicines

Transport to access centralised locations / availability of appts / services cut at Dr Grays Hospital

Lack of transparency

There was plenty of enthusiasm for taking action. People wanted to show solidarity and support each other and to learn from each other’s campaigns.

“We need to be right at the heart of where change can be made.”

Making Rights Real is proud to support NHWWH’s incredible campaign. We look forward to seeing what this mighty group of human rights defenders achieve next.