Age Scotland calls for urgent intervention to avoid care home closure

Age Scotland has urged Highland Council and NHS Highland to offer a lifeline to the residents and families of a Fort William care home threatened with imminent closure.

The owners of Moss Park Care Home in Caol have stated their intention to close the care home, which is currently home to 39 residents, within three months.

Care home provision is scarce in the Highland town and the only other nursing home in the area is already at capacity, forcing vulnerable older people and their families to look further afield for residential care, including specialist dementia care which is not offered by all care homes.

The proposal to have Highland Council, in partnership with NHS Highland, purchase and run Moss Park was outlined by local MSP, Kate Forbes, at a public meeting on Tuesday. It is widely seen as the only viable option in the short term.

Writing to Derek Brown, CEO of Highland Council, and Fiona Davies, CEO of NHS Highland, Katherine Crawford, CEO of Age Scotland said:

“We have been made aware of the imminent closure of Moss Park Care Home in Caol, Fort William, which we know has come as devastating news to the residents and their families.

“Those affected by this threatened care home closure are heart-broken and distressed. There is genuine fear about their future. We have heard one 102-year-old woman ask: ‘What have I done wrong?’ and ‘Where will I be?’ This uncertainty is causing untold damage to the physical and mental health of residents, their families and those who care for them.

“I am writing to ask you to intervene as a matter of urgency, with a view to purchasing and operating the service, at least until other options can be fully explored. This would reduce the stress on residents and their loved ones. Keeping the care home open will also avoid additional pressures on NHS Highland, which would inevitably have to take some residents into hospital care to address their needs.

“Moss Park is a vital service to dozens of families in Highland. It is also home to 39 older people. Every effort must be made to keep it open.”