Chance of a reprieve for Achvarasdal care home now 'quite slim'

THE chances of the Achvarasdal care home near Reay being kept open beyond the end of the month are “quite slim”.

That is the view of Derrick Milnes, chairman of Thurso and Wick Trades Council, who is unhappy with the response he received from the Scottish health minister Shona Robison.

He wrote her on behalf of the trades council in April to see if the Scottish government could do something to help keep the facility open.

Achvarasdal, which is due to close at the end of June, is run by CrossReach on behalf of the Church of Scotland. The home has 30 full-time and part-time staff and 10 residents but can cater for 25.

“It has taken the minister six weeks to come back to me but she is not as up to date as I expected her to be,” Mr Milnes said. “I thought by the length of time she took to reply she was coming up with something positive. But no, she has provided no real answer to it.

“We will just have to watch what is going on with the NHS Highland redesign and put our pennyworth in there. But I think the possibility of Achvarasdal continuing is quite slim.”

Mr Milnes wants the health minister to intervene over the closure plan.

“We have an ageing population,” he said. “We are told there is no spare capacity in the country, so why is Achvarasdal not being used? People are crying out for nursing homes and yet this facility is not fully utilised.”

In her reply, Ms Robison said that for the past 18 months NHS Highland has been collaborating with CrossReach staff to find a solution to the “ongoing substantial losses being incurred” at Achvarasdal.

A number of actions were taken, including NHS Highland providing a manager for Achvarasdal and access to local relief and bank staff to help CrossReach reduce its costs.

Efforts were also made to increase resident numbers.

“However, I understand there were insufficient numbers of local people wishing to take up residence in Achvarasdal to increase the numbers... to a level sufficient that CrossReach were no longer suffering losses,” Ms Robison stated.

She said the health authority will continue to work closely with CrossReach, the individuals and their families to ensure as smooth as possible a transition for those Achvarasdal residents affected. The two bodies will also aim to deliver community-based care closer to home for individuals in the area, the minister added.