Brian Chittick

The lack of housing in the region was highlighted in July when Shetland Islands Council issued a call for available rental accommodation to help house incoming council workers.

NHS Shetland already has some of its own accommodation, including a former guest house it bought in 2022. But further accommodation is being considered when thinking about a replacement Gilbert Bain Hospital.

Chief executive Brian Chittick said the health board is “exploring all opportunities to work with partner organisations to improve the options for staff and families looking to move to the isles in finding suitable affordable accommodation”.

“We have received feedback from staff engagement and exit interviews that a challenge in retaining staff is the amount of affordable housing that is available for staff to stay in,” he said.

“To bridge this gap, we do have a number of properties that we let to staff to help them integrate into Shetland and working in NHS Shetland.

“However, we do find that those new employees moving to Shetland with families or pets face particular challenges in finding accommodation to suit their needs. This has been a problem for quite a while.

“Other areas where we have tried to support new staff moving to Shetland is in the form of providing relocation allowances and connecting staff to properties which we know are both available and affordable.”

Meanwhile, Shetland Islands Council chief executive Maggie Sandison recently said the local authority knows there are many people in Shetland who are struggling to find accommodation, with its long-term housing strategy aiming to help address this.

“In the short term, we have a number of new members of staff, across many areas – schools and social work for example – and we need to find them somewhere to stay so they can provide vital public services,” she said.

“We’d like to hear from anyone who has any suitable properties that they’d consider letting.”

Anyone who may have suitable accommodation is asked to contact the council’s Human Resources team on HumanResources@shetland.gov.uk or phone 01595 744023.