Cole-Hamilton demands action on Highlands care home closures
Scottish Liberal Democrat Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today urged the SNP Government to urgently act on the social care crisis as he raised the issue of care home closures in the Highlands with the Heath Secretary in the Scottish Parliament.
It follows the news that Moss Park Care Home in Caol, Lochaber is set to close within three months. Moss Park provides care for up to 39 people and there is now just one other care home in the Fort William area.
New statistics published today also show that there were 446 people in the Highlands estimated to be waiting on a social care assessment as at 2nd September 2024. In July, 228 people in the Highlands had their discharge from hospital delayed- the health board has the highest level of delayed discharges in Scotland as a percentage of the population.
Speaking in the Scottish Parliament, Mr Cole-Hamilton said:
“Last week, it was reported that another care home in the Highlands is set to close in Fort William, with the loss of 39 care spaces.
“At the moment, nobody seems to have an answer as to what happens next, but it is highly likely that some of those residents will be transferred to hospitals, impacting on that health board’s ability to prepare for winter.
“The loss perhaps of as many as 20 care homes within Highland Council over the last decade is forcing people to leave their communities for care placements that can be as much as 100 miles away, with delayed discharges already through the roof.
“Does the Health Secretary agree that the extra challenges of delivering care in remote and rural areas, particularly during winter, and the journey times, the costs of care, attracting staff, mean that the care crisis is only going to compound the efforts to prepare for winter, and what is his plan to fix it?”
Liberal Democrat MP for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire, Angus MacDonald, added:
“Across the Highlands, the crisis in social care is sharply felt. In rural areas like my own constituency, care homes just can’t get the staff they need, often having to rely on agencies and to pay the travel and accommodation for those agency workers. It’s simply not financially viable.
“We need a major investment in care home capacity in the Highlands. With the closure of Moss Park, more and more people struggle to access the care they need close to home. There are 257 fewer care beds available in the Highlands than three years ago.
“Only the Scottish Liberal Democrats have a plan to fix the problems in social care. We would create a new minimum wage for care workers, £2 higher than the national minimum wage, to tackle chronic staff shortages and make social care a profession of choice once again.”