‘Positive step’ towards reopening Gairloch’s Starthburn House care home
EFFORTS to reopen a Wester Ross care home are being stepped up following a “positive” meeting at which the hard work and dedication of staff was acknowledged.
NHS Highland said the temporary closure of Strathburn House care home in Gairloch back in July was due to “ongoing recruitment challenges and concerns around resident safety”.
The prospect of losing the valued facility prompted an immediate reaction from the local community leading to a meeting in the village this week attended by around 100 members of the community and representatives of NHS Highland.
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An NHS Highland spokesman said afterwards: “The service at Strathburn Care Home is temporarily suspended as the home does not have a registered manager in place.
“We have offered the post to a successful candidate and they are going through our recruitment process.
“This is a positive step in re-opening the home.
“The care home has substantial staff vacancies and these will go out to advert shortly. We will be able to plan for the home to re-open once recruitment to these posts is complete.
“We are grateful to the local community for the offer of accommodation to support us with the recruitment process.
“We would like to thank the community council for hosting the meeting; it was good to see so many members of the community who wish to be involved with not just the care home but the strategic work we are doing to look at the provision of care and our priorities.
“We look forward to working with them to provide a model for sustainable care in the future. We are clear we need the help and assistance of the community to plan and provide care for the area.”
Wester Ross councillor Liz Kraft shared her thoughts after the meeting on her social media feed.
She said a manager has been appointed and further adverts are going out for staff with an intention to open next year with a timescale of February at the earliest.
She posted that NHS Highland (NHSH) now has a "roving care manager" to ensure a similiar turn of events doesn't happen again.
She said NHSH has appointed a care home attraction lead to support recruitment into the care sector.
And she said future job adverts “will be advertised more widely than just NHS sites…using local press and social media and supporting those who struggle with the online application process”.
All staff will be provided with mandatory training before reopening, she said.
And she added: “The staff were applauded for their hard work and dedication.”