Argyll and Bute Council yesterday (Thursday 26th January) called on Crossreach and the Church of Scotland to take no action that would promote the closure of the much-needed Auchinlee Care Home in Campbeltown.

Councillors requested that Crossreach, the Church of Scotland, the Health and Social Care Partnership and the Scottish Government begin immediate discussions with a view to preserving this important service in the long term, and confirmed the council’s willingness to facilitate these discussions.

Chief Executive Cleland Sneddon last night wrote to Crossreach Chief Executive Peter Bailey and offered the council’s support to make these vital discussions happen, bearing in mind the urgency of the situation and the uncertainty facing residents of Auchinlee, their families, friends and the wider Campbeltown and Kintyre communities.

Leader of Argyll and Bute Council, Councillor Dick Walsh, said:

“The council discussed the worrying situation of Auchinlee yesterday and noted with extreme concern the uncertainty around care services in Campbeltown. We are committed to doing all that we as a local authority can do to bring the relevant parties to the table. We’re asking that Crossreach, the Church of Scotland, the Health and Social Care Partnership and the Scottish Government get round the table and sort this out, and we’re happy to help as far as we can.

“Auchinlee is a private facility, and it’s a matter for the owner and operator, together with the public bodies responsible for providing care services in our area, to get a plan in place which will sustain care services in Kintyre for our most vulnerable residents.

“It takes everyone in a community to look after a community, and Argyll and Bute Council is standing with the people of Campbeltown, trying to broker a long-term, sustainable solution which allows vulnerable people to be given the care they deserve, in a place near their home, their families and their friends.”