A consultation is to be held into the future of a respite home for adults with learning difficulties after it was shut down over the alleged mistreatment of service users.

Beachview Lodge in the Sutherland village of Brora was temporarily closed by NHS Highland in March last year amid a police investigation into claims of ill treatment.

Residents were moved to a care centre in Maryburgh, 50 miles away, and have been there since.

Four members of the staff were reported to the Crown office after the police investigation, with one carer found guilty of mistreatment. One case is still pending.

The health board said it will hold a public engagement exercise to consider the facility's future, although it has concerns about filling staff vacancies.

Since the police investigation all the former staff have been sacked, retired or resigned.

One worker is about to begin the disciplinary process and another received a serious disciplinary sanction, which may result in a transfer to another workplace.

NHS Highland has written to the families of the people who used Beachview Lodge asking for their participation in the consultation exercise.

The health board's north area manager Bob Silverwood said the staffing issues, which include senior grade managers, have left "a very serious gap which experience suggests will not be easily filled".

He said: "Our priority at present needs to be considering quality and safety of care for our residents and also ensuring that the best possible respite arrangements are considered."

Mr Silverwood added the model of care used at Beachview is also seriously outdated, having been developed more than 20 years ago.

He said in recent years there has been a greater uptake of community-based tenancies, new funding packages have been developed and the needs of users are now more complex than before.

He added: "In short, does the current model of care deliver what is required in the current context? If not what requires to be amended and at what cost?

"To this end, we intend to launch an engagement exercise with service users and their families, which in turn will be informed by the results of a wider NHS wide review of respite services. Due to capacity issues and the forthcoming elections, it is unlikely that we will begin this process until early summer."

Former Beachview users will stay in the alternative respite home until the exercise is complete and a decision is made.