Due to ongoing recruitment challenges in remote and rural areas, NHS Highland has made the difficult decision to begin a planned closure of Caladh Sona care home in Talmine.
The planned closure of the home, which has four residents, will ensure that the residents can move safely into the nearest available care home facilities.
Michelle Johnstone, NHS Highland’s Area Manager, said: “This has been an extremely difficult decision but this is the safest outcome for the residents of Caladh Sona.
“Without a planned closure there is a significant risk that the residents will have to be moved at extremely short notice due to the ongoing staffing shortages that we face in the sector.
“This process will allow a managed approach to the transfer of residents in partnership with their families.
“We recognise this decision will cause anxiety among residents, relatives and staff but we believe this is the safest approach.
“The staff working in the home have worked tirelessly to maintain the current level of service provision, often covering absences during annual leave. This situation is not sustainable and I want to thank them for their dedication to the residents.”
The planned closure of Caladh Sona will take place over a 12-week period. The residents will move into the nearest available care homes and all permanent staff will be offered redeployment to other community services within the Sutherland district.
Michelle continued: “I want to reassure the local community that this decision will not have impact on the redesign work which we have undertaken over the last few years. We are committed to strengthening health and social care services in Sutherland and across Highland, and the new hub facility is planned to open in 2026, in line with the Northcoast redesign principles to help people stay in their communities by providing services as close to home as possible.”