Parklands Care Homes has announced plans to build affordable housing to be made available for rent by its staff.
Recognising the mounting pressures of the cost-of-living crisis currently impacting household budgets across the country, the Scottish provider hopes that the project will give it a key advantage when it comes to staff recruitment and retention – a key challenge when it comes to the social care sector.
Already operating nine care homes across Scotland, Parkland is currently in the process of constructing a new £10m home in Inverness, scheduled to open in 2023. However, in addition to the home itself, the operator has also submitted plans for 12 two-bedroom apartments and 12 two-bedroom cottage flats to be built close to the home, at a projected cost of £4.5m.
The managing director of Parklands Care Homes, Ron Taylor, said: “Recruiting quality care staff is particularly difficult at the moment because of the pressures of Covid-19 and the shortage of qualified staff across the UK.
“The cost-of-living crisis and the lack of affordable homes for rent are further barriers to recruitment.
“This is the first time we have invested in employee accommodation. However, given the scale of our commitment to Inverness, the undoubted difficulties many key workers face in securing affordable accommodation and the challenges of recruiting care staff, we believe the situation demands a new and innovative approach.
“We want to recruit the best care professionals available. We know from past experience that many of our care staff in the Highlands have found it difficult to source quality, affordable housing. This development will provide much needed affordable rental accommodation for the city.”
Parkland’s latest effort to recruit and retain staff follows its announcement of a £2,000 ‘welcome bonus’ to new full-time nurses joining the company, and a £250 incentive for other new employees. It has also created 18 new trainee care assistant roles via the government’s Kickstart scheme.
