Parklands Highland to invest £5m on new state of the art care homes for the north
11 January 2012
Award winning care provider promises “highest standards of care”
An award winning Buckie based residential care home provider has been named as the preferred bidder by The Highland Council for a multi million pound project to build and operate two new state of the art care homes in the north.
Parklands Highland, a subsidiary of Parklands Ltd – which owns residential care homes in Moray and Highland and has almost 20 years experience in the sector – plans to invest £5 million replacing the ageing facilities at Urray House in Muir of Ord and Duthac House in Tain with two new purpose built homes.
Residents and staff will move into the new homes in autumn 2013. In the meantime, the operation of both existing homes will transfer to Parklands Highlands later this summer. Staff currently employed by The Highland Council will transfer to Parklands Highland on their current terms and conditions, including pension provision.
The family run company currently owns six care homes in Moray and Highland, providing 170 placements and employing 275 staff. All of Parklands homes have attained grade 5 status (very good) for the quality of care and support.
Managing Director Ron Taylor said the company was committed to the highest standards of care and would ensure the new care homes achieved the same quality standards as its existing homes.
He said Parklands Highland would be consulting with staff, residents and the local community on its plans.
Each new care home will provide 34 en-suite bedrooms, with scope to increase to 40 bedrooms in the future. Room sizes will be 40% larger than the minimum standards, and bedrooms will feature flat screen TVs, internet connections and provision for direct dialing into residents’ rooms.
Staff, residents and their relatives would be encouraged to contribute to the smooth running of both homes through regular focus groups and evening and weekend surgeries.
The new care homes will be built by the infrastructure, support services and construction group Robertson, which has committed to employ apprentices in the building phase and engage local suppliers.
As part of the agreement, Parklands Highland will contribute £10,000 to develop a community garden at Muir of Ord. A minibus will be provided at each care home, for use by local community groups, and close links will be established with local primary schools.
Ron Taylor said: “We are delighted to have secured this important vote of confidence from The Highland Council for our plans to replace the ageing facilities at Duthac House and Urray House with two new purpose built, state of the art care homes.
“Parklands has almost 20 years experience providing quality nursing and residential care for elderly people in Moray and Highland, and we are committed to maintaining those same high standards in these new facilities.
“This is a substantial £5 million investment from Parklands Highland and marks a new direction for the company. We are particularly pleased to be working with Robertson to provide these new modern facilities.
“The construction of these new care homes will ensure that residents enjoy the highest standards of care in modern, purpose built surroundings. Our investment will also provide a welcome jobs boost for the local construction industry at what is obviously a challenging time for the sector, and leave a lasting legacy for the local community.”
He added: “In the coming weeks, we will be consulting widely with residents and their relatives, staff and their representatives, and with the wider local community to ensure that they are kept fully informed of our plans for the future of both homes. Our aim is to ensure a seamless continuity of service from The Highland Council to Parklands Highland and to deliver the high standard of care at Duthac House and Urray House that residents expect and deserve.”
Katherine Mackintosh, Development Manager for Robertson said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Parklands to deliver these important and essential buildings for the Highland region. Robertson has a wealth of experience delivering healthcare and social infrastructure projects which we will utilise in the delivery of these much needed care homes.
“As a local Highland business we are dedicated to developing the local area where we work. To underline our commitment we will organise an open day for suppliers to give them an insight into the project. We shall endeavour, where possible, to engage with the local supply chain.”
About Parklands
Parklands Highland is a wholly owned subsidiary of Parklands Ltd, which owns and operates six care homes in Moray and Highland.
The Parklands Group was established in 1993 by Ron Taylor, with the first purpose built Parklands care home located in Buckie.
Nursing, personal and palliative care is provided either permanently, for holiday breaks, short periods of respite care or to convalesce after a hospital stay. Specialist care is available for those with physical or mental disabilities. Close care is provided for independent living. The company also offers a day service for non residents on a daily basis.
The company won a Highlands & Islands Enterprise Silver Award for innovation, partnerships, sustainability and economic benefit through its SQA training. The company also won the Scottish and UK National Training Awards for training and development. In 2008, Parklands was named ‘Multiple Care Home Owner of the Year’ in the Scottish Care Awards.
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More information:
Donald Morrison
0141 848 6627/ 07915 853129