Bute families fear mainland exile for dementia patients after care home plans scrapped

Plans to expand the number of beds at the only care home on a Scottish island have been abandoned.

Families on Bute are struggling to care for loved ones with complex dementia needs or having to send them to the mainland.

In October, Argyll and Bute Council announced funding to expand Thomson Court — the island’s only care home — from eight beds to 14.

But the plans have been scrapped due to an overspend in social care costs.

The council and health and social care partnership say they’re “extremely disappointed” they can’t proceed, blaming costs that far exceed their budget.

‘It would break my heart’

John McTaggart, 75, and his daughter Jacqueline, 51, are caring for his wife Nancy at home.

She has Lewy Body dementia, an advanced form of the brain condition. But her family says sending her off the island feels unthinkable.

“I feel if she goes into a home, that’ll be the end of it. After all these years, it would break my heart,” John told STV News.

John, who suffers from multiple sclerosis and has had multiple spinal fractures, worries about the difficulty of traveling if his wife is placed in a care home on the mainland.

“The lack of facilities here is ridiculous. That is a big worry to us,” he added.

“She could be placed anywhere, such as the north of Scotland. That’s a hell of a lot of travel.

“You don’t know what’s ahead of you.”

Jacqueline added: “It has been a torrid time for the family. We’re petrified at the thought of mum going to a care home off the island.

“We have no control over where she would be placed. We’ve been told people are placed in areas like Fife or Stirling.

“That would involve a lot of travelling for us, and my dad wouldn’t manage it now.”

Jacqueline is pleading for more funding for additional beds at Thomson Court.

“Some of the care homes (on the mainland) are very large and, in some cases, they lose the person-centred family feel. I do think she would deteriorate quite rapidly.

“Family relationships are crucial for people with dementia. We want to hold onto mum for as long as we can.”

‘She’s over there right now with no one’

Joanna's mum is in a care home on the mainland — Joanna’s mum is in a care home on the mainland STV News

It’s an issue islanders on Bute have had to face more than once.

Ongoing financial pressures have seen the council consider closing care homes on the island, and most recently, its only elderly day care centre, sparking outcry and a petition that ultimately saved the facility.

But the decision to scrap plans for six desperately needed additional care home beds is currently at the forefront of residents’ minds.

Joanna Hoey is one of those who have had to make a painful decision.

She relies on her wheelchair and now faces a five-hour round trip to visit her mother, Ann Sawers.

“I was travelling to see my mum on her birthday recently, and my wheelchair broke, so I had to come back home. It really hurt me,” she said.

“It’s just cruel. My mum was born and brought up here – I’m trying to get her back here. That’s what she would want.

“There would be someone with her all the time here – that’s how simple it would be. We wouldn’t miss Christmas or a birthday.

“She’s over there right now with no one. When you do visit, you don’t get enough time to sit with them because you have to think of getting back home.

“We’d love to be with her while she’s going through what she’s going through. When someone has dementia, they really need their family.”

Community council convenor Jean Moffat said the beds are “desperately” needed for the island.

She said: “This is the only care home on the island, with just eight beds for a population of 6,000, where 25% are over 65. We are a very deprived area in many ways. It’s appalling.

“It’s beyond belief that a council would consider closing or reducing an offering they’ve made. We have a great deal of need on this island for care – find the money from some of the budget.

“Care homes should be at the front of their minds, because after all, we measure society by how you look after the poorest and most needy.

“When they review the situation, they have to go back to tender. Building costs are going through the roof every day; to pause everything doesn’t make any fiscal sense.”

Adam Stachura, director of policy, communications and external affairs at Age Scotland, said: “It can be really difficult to get a care home place in Scotland, but particularly so in rural communities. As the choice becomes much more limited, older people face the challenge of moving considerable distances from their family, community, and social networks, risking severe loneliness.

“We’re really worried about how quickly social care services are disappearing and how hard they are to access. It needs national reform, and the Scottish Government must focus on fixing social care. Without bold action, we are at risk of losing an essential national service.”

A spokesperson for Argyll and Bute Council said: “The HSCP and Argyll and Bute Council are unable to proceed at this time with the proposed project to re-model the care home at Thomson Court as the proposed costs for the work, following detailed design and a competitive tender exercise, are significantly in excess of the available budget.

“We are extremely disappointed that we are unable to proceed as we fully recognise the excess and increasing demand for residential care home capacity on Bute. This should, however, be considered as a temporary pause in the project, and we are in the process of developing our long-term approach to delivering residential care services for our older adult population. This work will include the needs of the people of Bute.

“In addition to the increased proposed project costs that came out of the tender process, the HSCP has also experienced increased social care demand and staffing costs which has led to us significantly overspending on social care services. This further adds to the difficulty in funding the project at present.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government is committed to improving the dementia experience for our remote and island communities.

“That includes investment of £4.35m this year to increase direct support to dementia community groups and settings, and increase the number of people who benefit from our commitment to 12 months’ Post-Diagnostic Support.

“We are committed to ensuring the benefits of this investment, and the wider efforts to deliver the National Dementia Strategy, are realised for these communities, including through the recent publication of an Islands Impact Assessment for this work.

“The social care sector has also been affected by the UK Government to increase National Insurance Contributions and recent decisions on migration. This has placed a heavy and entirely avoidable financial pressure on care homes making it harder for them to provide care for those who need it particularly in rural and island communities.”