BOSSES at Quarriers have announced the closure of three small care homes in Inverclyde due to ‘increasing difficulty’ in maintaining staff numbers.

The facilities within Quarrier’s Village – Glen Valley, Fountainview and Ashgrove - look after a total of 17 residents. 

New placements will now have to be found for them, but there should be no job losses as a result of the decision.

The care organisation has said sorry to all of the families affected by the closures and says it will work with them and statutory agencies to help them find alternative accommodation.

Dr Ron Culley, chief executive, said: “Quarriers has announced the difficult decision to close three care homes in Quarrier’s Village, Inverclyde.

"We have faced ongoing difficulties in recruiting the required staff numbers to provide the highest level of care within this care model and geographical location.

“We are working closely with the relevant local authorities and the families of the people we support to ensure that suitable alternative accommodation is secured.

"We offer heartfelt apologies for the disruption this decision will cause to the people we currently support and their families."

Along with 110 other members of the Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland (CCPS), the charity is now calling on the Scottish Government to ‘value social care’ by increasing pay for staff in the sector.

A report published by CCPS in July last year highlighted that of those moving jobs in the sector, an average of 52 per cent left social care altogether.

The latest census also showed that 250 adult care homes in Scotland have shut down over the past decade.

Quarriers has stressed the decision to close these three homes will not affect any of its other facilities. It operates more than 100 services across 17 local authority areas

Mr Culley said: “This decision was made with the utmost consideration for the safety and wellbeing of those in our care.

"We are dedicated to making this period of transition as comfortable as possible for all involved and will engage in regular communication with the families to keep them informed of updates.

"Quarriers does not foresee any staff losses in relation to this process.”