A COMPANY with three care homes in Scotland has gone into administration.

Bertinaley Care Limited owns and operates premises near Hamilton, Largs and Dundee – as well as one in Surrey – with 68 residents in total.

Helenslea House near Dundee has been forced to shut and those in its care are expected to be moved to alternative accommodation in the coming days, the administrators said.

The Herald:

The other Bertinaley care homes are Auchinlea Residential Care Home in Largs and the Duchess Nina Nursing & Residential Home near Hamilton.  

Care home operator Careport has been appointed to manage the remaining premises during the administration process.

Tom MacLennan, Iain Fraser and Chris Stevens have been appointed as joint administrators.

Mr MacLennan, of FRP Advisory LLP, said: “Unfortunately, following a number of operational challenges and a decline in resident numbers, the company has suffered significant cashflow difficulties which could not be resolved, resulting in it entering into administration.

The Herald:

“The health and wellbeing of the residents is of the utmost importance, which is why we have acted quickly by appointing Careport to manage the homes throughout this process and ensure that residents receive the best care.

“Whilst it has sadly been necessary to close the Helenslea House home in Dundee, we would encourage anyone interested in acquiring any or all of the homes to get in touch with us."

In March, the Helenslea care home was criticised by the Care Inspectorate following an unannounced inspection and highlighted that one person had not received their medication for more than a week.”

Helenslea was graded as “weak” in all four inspection areas. There are currently five residents receiving care.

Inspectors gave a number of reasons for the low ratings, including staffing levels and medication issues.