Strontian care home to close
RESIDENTS will not be returning to Dail Mhor Care Home in Strontian, NHS Highland and Highland Council have said, confirming families’ worst fears.
Emotions were running high at a meeting on Thursday November 9, as around 80 members of the public packed into Strontian Village Hall, including many members of care home staff, to hear that Dail Mhor Care Home is to remain closed to residents.
The six-bed care home in Strontian, owned by the Highland Council and managed by NHS Highland since 2012, closed in August this year in order to conduct urgent plumbing repair work, with residents forced to relocate.
Representatives from the estates teams of both the Highland Council and NHS Highland told locals that repairs to the 45-yearold building – initially expected to be completed by the end of October – had uncovered asbestos in the heating system control room. Due to these delays, the council has said that work will be complete by December.
However, deputy director of operations for north and west NHS Highland, Tracy Ligema, revealed at the meeting last Thursday that the NHS will not be investing in the building due to its age and the fact that sixbed care facilities are no longer regarded as viable options.
Ms Ligema said: ‘We advised, on the recommendation of NHS Highland’s estates department, that there is further work required to make the Dail Mhor building fit for purpose beyond the plumbing repairs which the council is in the process of completing.
‘This is significant work and we advised that, given the constraints of the current premises, it would be better to invest in solutions which would provide longer term sustainability than could be achieved with the current building.’
Following its temporary closure, five residents were moved out of Dail Mhor at the end of August – three being transferred to Invernevis House in Fort William, one to the Mackintosh Centre in Mallaig and one to Moss Park care home in Caol – leaving relatives with lengthy journeys to visit their loved ones.
Lochaber councillor Andrew Baxter, speaking to the Lochaber Times after the meeting, said: ‘Despite council officers saying works would be complete before Christmas and the building handed back to the NHS, no residents will be returning.
‘This is effectively a closure by stealth. The NHS attempted to wind down the use of Dail Mhor a few years ago by encouraging families to place their loved ones elsewhere. They didn’t succeed because of local opposition.’
At the meeting, Ms Ligema identified the need for a more significant care ‘footprint’ in Strontian and intimated that NHS Highland is keen to work in partnership with the community to ensure investment is directed towards the area. She also described a variety of options for elderly care within the community without the need for a care home.
Mr Baxter was unconvinced with NHS Highland’s promises to improve healthcare in the area, however, adding: ‘We heard lots of vague promises at the community meeting from NHS managers, including talk of working with the community. However, there was no firm commitment or funding allocated to back up those promises.’
Denise Anderson, chairperson of Sunart Community Council (SCC), said: ‘It’s a very worrying time for the affected families and the staff, who have been desperately waiting for news about the future of this critical facility.
‘I’m saddened to hear NHS Highland does not consider the building fit to re-open in the short term but welcome the commitment from NHS Highland to find a way for us to open the building as a community resource – at least in the daytime – and her [Ms Ligema] longer term commitment to investment in Strontian for the benefit of the whole peninsula.’
The meeting closed with an agreement to form a local task force, convened by SCC. Twenty residents put their names down to assist or to be involved.