Jenny's Well and Braeside House, both operated by Sight Scotland, face serious financial difficulties

A charity has said it may have to close two specialist care homes for those with sight loss.

Sight Scotland has said Jenny's Well in Paisley, which has 21 residents, and Braeside House in Edinburgh, home to 31 people, are under threat.

The homes have made unsustainable losses and there was little prospect of turning them around, the charity has said.

It has begun a consultation with staff and is working with residents and their families to find alternative care.

Mark O'Donnell, chief executive of Sight Scotland and Sight Scotland Veterans, said: "It is with great sadness that we have announced that we are proposing to potentially close our two care homes for older people, Jenny's Well in Paisley and Braeside House in Edinburgh.

"An increasingly difficult financial environment for care homes has meant we have had to subsidise heavily our older people's care homes from our charitable reserves, to a level that is no longer sustainable.

"Braeside House and Jenny's Well reported a financial deficit of over £1.5m for the year ending 2019-20."

The Covid-19 has had a significant impact on the financial outlook for the homes, O’Donnell added.

"The pandemic has thrown these issues into sharp relief,” he said.

"We have sought independent expert advice from different sources, all of which has sadly concluded that there is little realistic prospect of turning this around.

"We will continue to provide care to residents until alternative provision has been identified for them, and we will be working closely with health and social care partnerships during this process."