Glen Centre in Aviemore will reopen say NHS Highland
Fears of the strath losing a popular and vital day care centre have been allayed with good news from NHS Highland.
The Glen Centre in Aviemore closed its doors on September 9 with health chiefs insisting it was on a temporary basis due to staffing shortages.
However, family members of those who rely on the Glen Centre for the essential days ‘out’ of the house feared that the way was being paved for a permanent closure.
It is now reported that a recruitment drive by the health authority to get more staff on-board and to the required levels has been successful.
Local Highland councillor Bill Lobban told the Strathy: “I know there have been further enquiries regarding the Glen Centre and I am advised by NHS Highland that the current position is that the day care attendees are either still being provided a small service from Glen Centre and or from the Wade Centre in Kingussie.
“A successful recruitment cycle has seen all outstanding posts filled and the service expects to be back to full establishment in eight to 12 weeks.”
Mr Lobban emphasised: “The Glen Centre is an important part of the support provided to our community and I'm pleased to hear that the current problems have been resolved and we can look forward to the centre returning to normal operations in the near future.”
Councillor Muriel Cockburn, who leads on health matters for councillors in the strath, said: “NHS Highland and Highland Council have been working hard to ensure that services are delivered. I will be keeping a close eye on things.”
The affected families had also approached local MSP and Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes who had sought answers from NHS Highland.
She said yesterday: “Having written to the health board at the beginning of September, I made follow-up enquiries last week and still await a substantive response from NHS Highland on the future of the Glen Centre.
“I know how highly valued it is locally, and I hope recent recruitment efforts have proved successful.”
This morning a spokesperson for NHS Highland told the Strathy: “The day care service at the Glen Centre was temporarily suspended due to staffing issues.
“Recruitment has been successful and we will now work through our processes to support these individuals to begin their employment.”
The centre, located in the heart of the village, has been running for 24 years.
The facility has always been highly rated by the Care Inspectorate, and was graded ‘very good’ and ‘good’ in recent inspections.
“The Glen Centre provides a very caring and flexible support service where all service users are made to feel very welcome.” said the most recent report on the inspectorate’s website.
“All staff had established very good relationships with service users. The manager and staff were very committed to the service and its on-going development.
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“Service users who attended spoke very highly of the staff and the service provided.
“They considered the service provided to be invaluable and were of the opinion that staff worked extremely hard. The manager and staff are committed to providing a service of a very high standard.”
