The most remote inhabited island of the UK is searching for a new nurse – the only medical expert there.
The current nurse on Fair Isle, which has around 50 residents, is leaving later this month, and NHS Shetland is advertising for a replacement.
“A high degree of personal resilience is required to undertake this remote island post,” the advert warns.
Fair Isle, which is halfway between the Shetland mainland and Orkney, is only three miles long and a mile-and-a-half wide, with just one shop but no pubs.
Owned by the National Trust for Scotland, Fair Isle is known for its “amazing resident and migratory birdlife, dramatic landscapes and equally dramatic weather, as well as world-famous knitwear”.
A two-bedroom traditional stone-build house is available for the new nurse to rent, and ferries and planes to and from the mainland are both weather-dependent, the job advert says.
Four years ago, Fair Isle advertised for a headteacher for its primary school, which had just three pupils.
The full-time post has a salary range of £41,608 – £50,702, with a “distant island allowance” of £2,482. A relocation assistance of up to £8,000 is also available, the advert shows.
The successful candidate will be responsible for the entire population, from newborns to people up to the age of 90, and may have to provide some personal care as there is no island-based social care provision.
NHS Shetland describes the role as a “unique opportunity to become a truly integral part of a forward-thinking, determined, resilient and hardworking remote island community”.
The Sumburgh Coastguard helicopter serves as the island’s ambulance, but the nurse is the only medical professional on Fair Isle.
Clinical support and supervision is available from the community nursing team and GPs at Levenwick on the mainland. Applications are open until the end of the month.
One island resident, Eileen Thomson, told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland: “I think it could be the most amazing opportunity for the right kind of person.
“It’s always a bit of a concern not having somebody here as we’re the remotest inhabited island in the country,” she said.
“We’re lucky we’ve had some amazing nurses over the last few years, we always love to welcome new people into the community.”
She said island life did not suit everyone.
“We’re in the far north, the weather isn’t that great in the winter, transport isn’t that easy, and you do have to be a really confident clinician. You are the person looking after everything, you are the man on the ground, so to speak.
“For someone who’s experienced, for someone who is looking for a challenge – but a wonderful challenge – I think it could really be the perfect role.”
Fair Isle has more puffins than people, although numbers of the black-and-white birds have fallen. The latest estimate was between 10,000 and 20,000.
