The story of a health scheme which preceded the National Health Service in Scotland. A doctor in the 1940s, while waiting for the air ambulance which is to take a crofter's wife to Glasgow for a special operation, recalls how in the Scottish Highlands and the Western Isles at the turn of the century doctors were few and communications bad. He tells how, thanks to the Highlands and Islands Medical Service which was initiated and subsidised by the Government, the number of doctors and nurses was increased, communications were greatly improved, and the services were made available to all. The film was made in the Outer Hebrides and in the northern Highlands. Since the date of this film these services have been continued and developed by the National Health Service.