Inverness MP launches report on Highlands social care crisis

Liberal Democrat MP for Inverness, Skye and West-Ross-shire, Angus MacDonald, has today (Wednesday 2nd April) launched a comprehensive report on the social care crisis in the Highlands, which calls on the Scottish Government to invest in new care homes across the west coast, helping the region increase bed capacity and tackle chronic staff shortages.

The Highland MP commissioned a report into the state of the social care crisis after a huge number of his constituents wrote to him last year about the feared closure of Moss Park Care Home in Caol, Lochaber. Moss Park provides care for up to 39 people and it is one of just two care homes in the Fort William area.

Mr MacDonald has long campaigned to improve social care in the Highlands, having previously described the gaps in social care provision as the ‘biggest threat’ to the wellbeing of those living in the region.

To inform the report, Mr MacDonald and his staff received responses from 88% of Highland care providers, representing the care of roughly 1,275 people across the region as well as analysing data from NHS Highland.

The report reveals that:

• In the last decade, the number of care homes for older people in the Highlands fell by 18%, while the population aged 75 and over surged by 71.9% between 2001 and 2023.
• In remote areas along the west coast, only eight care homes remain, forcing many elderly residents to seek care far from their families and communities.
• Of the private and third-sector care homes surveyed, 92.6% rated National Insurance Contribution rises as highly significant for their care home's operations and financial sustainability.
• A majority of care homes rated low pay and lack of affordable housing as a highly significant barrier to recruitment.

In the report care home staff warn that:

• “The sector is consistently being tasked with doing more for less”
• “[the] salary does not reflect the workload or skills required”
• “Workload is demanding both emotionally and physically”
• “during Covid we all clapped for NHS but what about the care home staff [...] a number of staff experienced PTSD and we all wonder how on earth we got through the long hours, sad times and we put our residents above our own health and families”
• “With care beds disappearing at an alarming rate, a fair funding system – one that truly reflects the cost of complex care – is urgently needed to prevent further closures”

Mr MacDonald is now calling on the Scottish Government to provide a clear, targeted funding plan for the construction of four new care homes on the west coast - at Portree, Ullapool, Fort Augustus and Fort William. As well as increasing bed capacity by up to 240 places, these new facilities would also include on-site accommodation for staff, directly tackling the recruitment issues which have long plagued the region.

Ron Taylor, managing director of Parklands Care Homes, one of the largest independent care providers in the Highlands, has welcomed the publication of Mr MacDonald’s report. He described it as a “comprehensive analysis of the scale of the social care crisis in the Highlands and its impact on families and communities across the region. It raises important questions about funding, workforce challenges, and the availability of care home places, particularly in rural areas.”

Commenting on his report, Angus MacDonald said:

“The situation in the Highlands is unsustainable.

“As my report makes clear, the ageing population of the Highlands far outstrips the number of care homes available. In recent years, more and more care homes have closed their doors and those that remain are grappling with staff shortages and higher costs.

“This dire situation is making it extremely difficult for people to get the care they need close to home, all while piling pressure on our already overstretched hospitals.

“We need to see a big investment that establishes new care facilities and tackles vacancies. My proposals would deliver for the people of the Highlands, helping them get access to the best care close to home and easing the mammoth pressures facing our health service.

"My party are also calling on the UK Government to exempt care providers from the rise to employers’ National Insurance contributions that risks sending more care homes to the wall."