Care Home Services for Older People

The Council’s Social Work Service is both a direct provider and a commissioner of care home services for older people.

There are currently 18 Council-run care homes for older people in Highland, offering a total of 264 care home places.

The Scottish Government has produced an information booklet for people who may need to move into a care home and for their carers and relatives.

In the independent sector, there are 45 care homes for older people in Highland, offering a total of 1,471 care home places.  Brochures for Council-run Care Homes and Day Care Services can be found in the right hand section of this page.

The Council has a contract in place with each of the providers from whom it purchases care home services. This contract is called the National Care Home Contract (NCHC). The Contract is negotiated nationally by Cosla and is used by all local authorities across Scotland. A standard fee applies.

The Highland Community Care Partnership is committed to supporting people to stay in their own homes wherever it is feasible to do this. Before taking up a care home place, the older person will have had a comprehensive assessment undertaken of their care needs and a range of options explored. A person is always initially offered a short-stay placement until his/her longer term needs are clear. This may include an intensive period of ‘reablement.’ This is where care and health professionals work together with the person in a focussed intensive way to help them regain or learn skills that help them live their lives as independently as possible. Following this, a longer term care solution will be agreed. Some people are offered a care home service when they are in need of respite care. This service is aimed at supporting carers to undertake what is often an arduous responsibility. 

The Council has a duty to ensure that all care home services, whether delivered or purchased, are sustainable and of a suitably high quality.