ELDERLY residents of an island care home have been told they must leave within a matter of days as the facility is reportedly to close on Sunday.
NHS Highland is now desperately trying to find alternative accommodation for the five people who have been staying at the Hilton Care Home in Broadford on Skye.
There had been concern that some might have had to leave the island, at least in the short-term. Staff and residents were only informed of the closure on Tuesday.
However, it emerged yesterday that those residents who are from Skye or have relatives there will be able to stay on the island.
The home was bought by Mr and Mrs Mekameh Pirzadeh in 2011. The couple were unavailable for comment yesterday but a member of staff told The Herald: "I don't think they want to say anything."
A spokesman for NHS Highland said that they had been advised that the operators of Hilton Care Home in Skye intended to close the service "at short notice".
He added: "NHS Highland will work closely with the operators to ensure that the five residents currently house within Hilton Care Home will be offered appropriate accommodation and care in alternative services as soon as possible.
"We are endeavouring to find alternative accommodation for the residents on Skye if possible."
Skye councillor Drew Millar said he understood that four of the five residents had Skye connections and were likely to be found accommodation on the island.
Relatives of residents said they had been shocked by only getting a few days' notice, but they also felt sorry for the staff who were about to lose their jobs.
It is not clear why the home was running only at 50% capacity.
Three former employees had been taking the owners to an employment tribunal before they settled out of court in February.
A Care Inspectorate report last year concluded, that while there were areas needing improvement, it provided a clean and homely environment for residents.
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