Another Highland care home has announced it is closing, putting 35 elderly residents in limbo.
HC-One has served notice that it will close Castle Gardens care home in Invergordon after a prolonged struggle with retaining staff.
The company will work with Highland Council and NHS Highland to find new homes for its residents as it winds down the business.
It will be the fifth care home to close in the Highlands in the last 14 months.
‘Worrying time for residents’
NHS Highland’s interim chief officer Pamela Cremin said the health board’s priority is to work with the council to support residents to move to a new care home as soon as possible.
She added: “We know this is a worrying time for the residents and their families.
“We will remain in close contact with residents and their relatives to ensure they are supported as this work continues to progress.”
Castle Gardens received a good report from inspectors after an unannounced visit in 2021.
A statement from the health board said HC-One had “exhausted all other viable alternatives” before coming to its decision.
Liaison social workers have been appointed to help residents with the next step.
Staff at the care home will also be supported to find new jobs.
Care homes in peril across the region
Cromarty Firth councillor Maxine Smith said the news was a “shock to the community”.
She said: “I’m saddened to hear of the imminent closure of Castle Gardens. It’s been a part of the town for decades.
“These elderly residents are at their most vulnerable and weakest and we should give them every due respect and care.
“It’s very sad news and is an indication of the state of the NHS and the UK when we can’t even look after our elderly in the way they deserve, many having paid into the system for decades.”
The struggles faced by HC-One are not unique.
Demand on adult social care is at an all-time high following the pandemic.
Despite that, NHS Highland has fewer care home beds and significant gaps in community services.
A special meeting between the health service and the council held last November was told the sector was at risk of collapse in parts of the north.
Which other care homes have closed?
The Highlands is being hardest hit because of the area’s older population and high number of small and rural care homes, some of which are being put up for sale.
Industry leaders said it was “increasingly not sustainable” for charities and small family-run businesses to run the vital facilities.
They highlighted the impact of Brexit on staffing and a lack of government support.
It was announced earlier this year that the Mo Dhachaidh care home in Ullapool will close next month, leaving 14 people looking for new accommodation.
Last year, Grandview House in Grantown, Shoremill in Cromarty and Budhmor in Portree all closed.
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