31/05/2026
in 1945: the death of Dr Lachlan Grant - doctor, writer, researcher, inventor, campaigner, reformer.
Lachlan Grant was a general practitioner based in Ballachulish from 1900-1945 and was extremely influential in Highland life and politics in the first half of the Twentieth Century. He lived an exceptionally interesting and multi-faceted life - and is fondly remembered locally for risking his career fighting for the rights of the quarry workers - but perhaps most significant was his contribution to the Dewar Commission Report and advocacy of the development of the Highlands and Islands Medical Service, a model considered to be the precursor to the National Health Service.
“We require a new departure in the form of a full State medical service for our Highlands and Islands”
- Dr Lachlan Grant in evidence given to Dewar Committee, 1912
The Dewar Report of 1912 investigated and highlighted the deficiencies in Highland medical care and noted that living conditions, poverty and poor diets were exacerbating the issues. Doctors working in the Highlands had difficult lives with no job security, low wages, and poor-quality housing. Medical care was often basic as they were unable to take time off to attend courses to improve skills and knowledge, and had limited access to the newest equipment. The population was sparse and scattered, meaning doctors often had to travel great distances by carriage, horseback, boat or foot to attend patients, risking their own safety in the process. By this point, Dr Grant had been working in the Highlands for nearly 20 years and had experienced these issues for himself – he once had to take a boat from Ballachulish to Kinlochleven and then traverse mountain passes in a storm to deliver a baby in Roy Bridge.
Dr Grant gave evidence to the Dewar Committee, laying out both problems and solutions. His suggestions included the provision of appropriate transport, the ability to take leave to attend professional post-graduate training to keep up to date with medical advances, recruitment of more nurses and, above all, that a “full State medical service” be established in the Highlands.
As a result of the conclusions of the Dewar Report and the evidence given by local doctors, the Highlands and Islands Medical Service was established in August 1913 with an annual grant of £42,000 and the aim of improving access to healthcare. It guaranteed a minimum wage for medical staff and provided grants for better housing, which in turn attracted a new class of young doctors, and treatment was to be provided whether patients could pay or not. Such is its legacy, it is considered to have been a template for the NHS, established in 1948. Arguably, this could be said to be Dr Grant’s legacy as well, though sadly he was not around to witness it.
Discover Glencoe, Scotland
Museums and Heritage Highland
