Who We Are
Vibrant Health Advocates — Highlands Branch was established to address a reality that anyone living here already knows: the Highlands is one of the most sparsely populated regions in Europe, and that geography shapes everything about how people experience health and care.
Specialist services sit in Inverness or further afield in Aberdeen. A routine referral can mean a 160-mile round trip. For people who are already unwell, or who are caring for someone who is, that is an enormous practical and emotional burden — and it compounds health inequalities that have existed in this region for generations.
We are a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation, governed by a local board of trustees who between them bring expertise in nursing, social work, community development, and lived experience of the conditions we work with. Our staff team is small and rooted in the communities we serve: most of us were born here, or chose to stay here, and we understand the culture and the distances in a way that no visiting service ever quite can. That rootedness matters. It shapes how we approach people, how we design our programmes, and how we talk about health without making anyone feel judged or lectured.
Over the years we have built trusted relationships with NHS Highland, Highland Council's adult social care teams, rural GPs, pharmacists, and a wide network of voluntary organisations across the region. Those relationships allow us to move quickly when someone needs help — cutting through waiting lists and referral pathways to get people the practical support they need without delay. We are not a replacement for statutory services; we are the connective tissue that helps statutory services actually reach people.
Our Story
Vibrant Health Advocates began in the Central Belt, founded by a group of former NHS staff and patient advocates who had watched too many people leave hospital appointments confused, undertreated, and unsupported. The model — trained lay advocates working alongside patients, with no clinical agenda of their own — proved itself quickly, and demand spread.
The Highlands Branch came into being after a sustained push from a small group of Inverness-based health professionals and community development workers who had seen the parent organisation's impact and knew the need here was, if anything, greater. The branch was formally constituted as a SCIO in 2016, giving it independent governance, local accountability, and the legal footing to raise its own funding and employ its own staff.
The early years were lean and energetic in equal measure: a two-person team working out of a borrowed office in Merkinch, a handful of volunteer advocates, and a waiting list that made it clear how much latent need existed in the region. A significant grant from The National Lottery Community Fund in 2019 allowed us to grow the team and extend our outreach into Easter Ross and the Black Isle.
The pandemic years tested us — and produced some of our most creative responses, including a telephone peer support network that still runs today and reaches people who will never set foot in a group setting. We have learned a great deal in our years of operation, and what we know above all is that health advocacy in rural Scotland cannot be done at arm's length.
Our Mission
Vibrant Health Advocates — Highlands Branch exists to ensure that every person living in the Highlands of Scotland can understand, access, and shape the health and social care they need — regardless of where they live, what condition they are managing, or how confident they feel in navigating the systems around them.
We believe that good health is inseparable from social connection, from dignity in care, and from the practical ability to get to a service, understand what is being said, and make an informed choice. Our work is non-clinical and non-partisan: we hold no agenda about treatments or pathways, only the conviction that people deserve to be heard, respected, and supported.
We pursue that mission through direct advocacy, peer support, community outreach, and by speaking up — in partnership with the people we serve — when systems fall short.
Our People
Our work is steered by a board of trustees who bring together clinical knowledge, voluntary sector experience, and a deep commitment to Highland communities. They give their time freely and govern with rigour, keeping the organisation accountable to its mission and to the people who rely on us.
Alongside the board, our small paid team and network of trained volunteer advocates carry the work forward day to day — visiting hospitals, running groups, answering phones, and making the journey out to communities that rarely see a charity worker on their doorstep.
Chair
Treasurer
Trustee
Interested in joining our board?
We periodically recruit new trustees with backgrounds in health, finance, law, and Highland community life. If you would like to find out more, please get in touch.
Whether you need support, want to get involved, or just want to learn more — the door is always open.
Get in touch