Working towards flexibility at Dail Mhor

I was disappointed to read the letter from Alan Thomson (Challenge NHSH on failure to provide essential facilities, December 26 2019), which follows previous letters from him of a similar nature.

Mr Thomson is well aware the community councils’ working group is fully committed to reinstating full-time residential care facilities at Dail Mhor, as soon as it is possible to do so, and that we restate that commitment to NHSH colleagues every time we meet. He is also aware that changes in care commissioning and statutory registrations have meant that it is not currently possible for Dail Mhor to deliver this service.

Dail Mhor is currently providing a wider range of services, and with far greater flexibility to accommodate differing needs, circumstances and requirements, than it was immediately prior to the 2017 closure. While the working group continues to work towards a viable way to provide full-time residential care, we would not wish that to come at the expense of these other services, since they are serving a greater need within the community.

Small-scale, dedicated residential care facilities are no longer viable, and are effectively being discontinued nationally. The only realistic opportunity for reintroducing full-time residential care is if it can be delivered alongside other similar services in multi-functioning and flexible service provision, which is what we are continuing to work towards at Dail Mhor.

We appreciate that it must be extremely frustrating for people who need a service other than the ones currently provided, but if we have any hope of ensuring a future for Dail Mhor, it must be developed in a way which is economically viable and serves the greatest need, and that is what we are doing.

Joanne Matheson, Acharacle.