A SPECIALIST care home for dementia patients is to shut its doors after 20 years leaving dozens of elderly residents and staff facing uncertainty.

Munro Court Care Home, in Anniesland, will close on October 31 with a day service shutting July 29.

Care provider Bield said it had been operating with "significant losses" over the past three years and blamed changing public policy on the care of older people, reductions in local authority funding and higher staffing costs for the closure.

The home cares for 32 residents in four small, linked homes and has a staff of around 60.

Mandy Devlin's 63-year-old old mother suffers from severe dementia and has been a resident for three years.

She said: "It's absolutely heartbreaking.

"My mum calls this place home. She will struggle to settle somewhere else.

"It's not like a normal home, all the residents have tenancy agreements, so they are basically evicting them.

"My mum is quite young compared to the other residents but it works for her. The care has been fantastic, it's the best that is out there.

"I found out last Wednesday when a man called me that I've never spoken to before in my life.

"I keep hoping I'll wake up and it's been a bad dream."

Local councillor Billy McCallister said he would be calling for a meeting with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

He said: "Some of these people have been there 17 years and the families are content and happy they have found a facility of such quality.

"Some of them are worried that if their loved ones are moved from this home it will be the end for them.

"We will be asking for a meeting with Nicola Sturgeon given the decision of the Scottish Government to to put all their resources into mental health."

Charlie Dickson, Director of Care Services at the home, said: “The closure of the Munro Court Care Home and Day Care Service is very much a last resort decision and a matter of deep regret to Bield.

“The Board had thoroughly explored and exhausted all available options – both short term and long term – to allow the services to continue.

“The decision to close Munro Court is the result of a number of cost factors that are distinct to this development and to Glasgow, and which have to come together at one time.

“Over the past three years, we have been operating Munro Court with significant losses.

"Changing public policy on the care of older people in Glasgow coupled with continued reductions in local authority funding, higher staffing costs because of the care home’s unique four-unit layout and the complex needs of residents, and an ongoing decreased demand for the services means it is no longer financially viable to keep Munro Court open.

“While Munro Court Care Home was designed to meet the specific, best-practice care requirements of the time when it opened 20 years ago, which incurred the need for a large staff ratio, we have been advised that reshaping the building to bring in more residents and reduce staff numbers is not a realistic option.

“We have sought to be totally open and transparent with residents and their families and have given an assurance that we will work closely with Glasgow City Council to find alternative arrangements for everyone affected.

“This is a worrying time for staff at Munro Court and we will be doing all we can to try to find suitable alternative employment within Bield while ensuring they continue to provide their exemplary levels of care, compassion and support to residents during this difficult period.”