Parklands Care Homes has welcomed the publication of a new report by Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire MP Angus MacDonald, which highlights the severe challenges facing the social care sector in the Highlands and proposes urgent solutions to address them.
The report provides a comprehensive analysis of the crisis, noting that an ageing population, workforce shortages, and a lack of funding have placed immense pressure on care providers. It warns that rural areas, in particular, are struggling with a shortage of care home places, leaving many older people without the support they need close to home.
Among the key recommendations, the report calls for an emergency summit to bring together Ministers, MSPs, MPs, and representatives from both the public and private sectors to develop a sustainable strategy for social care. Other proposed solutions include increasing funding for care homes, improving workforce recruitment and retention, and exploring new models of care delivery that better serve remote and rural communities.
Parklands Care Homes and its Highland care homes participated in the consultation that informed the report.
Parklands is currently building a new 58-bed care home in Inverness, set to open later this spring. The group has also confirmed plans to expand two of its Highland homes, with 12 additional beds at Innis Mhor in Tain and 10 more at Lynemore in Grantown.
Ron Taylor, Managing Director of Parklands Care Homes, said: “This report provides 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.
“At Parklands, we are doing our part to expand capacity. Over the next year, we will add 80 new beds in Inverness, Tain, and Grantown, helping to meet growing demand. But ensuring long-term sustainability requires a much more concerted effort across the sector.
“We appreciate the work that Angus MacDonald MP has done to shine a light on this vitally important issue and hope this report sparks the serious and solutions-focused discussion that is so badly needed.
“We support his call for an emergency summit bringing together Ministers, MSPs, MPs, and representatives from both the public and private sectors. The current system is broken. It’s time for some fresh thinking about how we support older people in our communities.”