CARE homes will be forced to close unless a recruitment crisis is tackled, as it emerged more than one-quarter of nursing posts are currently laying vacant.

Two reports, carried out by the umbrella body for private providers Scottish Care, show nurses are choosing not to work in care homes because they can get better pay and conditions in the NHS, or as an agency nurse, and because they feel under- valued compared with “real” nurses.

The reports suggest a looming crisis, with nurse vacancy levels up to 28 per cent, from 18 per cent in 2015. This year 98 per cent of care organisations said they struggled to recruit nurses.

The survey covered 269 care services and 2,500 nurses – around 50 per cent of all those working in private care provision.

Operators increasingly have to rely on agency nurses to fill their rotas, but 74 per cent of organi- sations saying they have lost staff to the NHS over the last year.

Ahead of a National Care Home Conference today in Glasgow, Dr Donald Macaskill, the chief executive of Scottish Care, said care services are considering ceasing to operate homes with nursing provision. Some are considering closing services altogether as agency nursing costs make them unsustainable.

“Last year we identified a developing crisis and 12 months on, there are growing concerns around the worsening of the issue,” he said. “We need to work with local authorities, the NHS and other partners to attract more people to work in the care sector, as it can be a hugely rewarding career path.”

He said the findings raised questions about whether enough nurses are being trained in Scotland, with providers increasingly recruiting staff from the EU and elsewhere in the world. The fallout from Brexit could make the employment of nurses from European countries more difficult in future, he said.

Mr Macaskill added: “The general shortage of nurses is a serious issue, but we also need to look at why many people, nurses and other professions, are not choosing to work in care homes. We need to stop talking down care homes and start celebrating them.”

One nurse surveyed by Scottish Care said barely anyone had turned up to a university careers event for nurses working in social care after a lecturer had told them they would not be “real nurses”. Others had been discouraged by friends who had said they would be “wasted” working in a nursing home.

Staff working in care homes are usually paid less, with poorer terms than their NHS counterparts. However, many spoke of the job satisfaction of care work.

Health Secretary Shona Robison will speak at today’s conference. She said: “We recognise the challenges in recruiting the right staff to deliver the quality care we need and we know raising the image of social care as a profession is key to achieving this.”

A Care Inspectorate spokesman said: “We expect care homes to have the right staffing mix in place to meet the individual needs of everyone they care for. Everyone in Scotland has the right to safe, compassionate care that meets their needs and respects their rights.”