Chris Keegan remembers his brother as a small boy wearing a motorcycle helmet to protect his head from constant seizures.

Kevin had developed epilepsy as a young child and the fits would send him falling to the ground at regular intervals, causing him severe injury.

He required constant supervision and care from an early age into adulthood but the situation reached crisis point when Kevin and Chris's parents died.

After years living in unsuitable accommodation, the family was delighted when Kevin was assessed by the Scottish Epilepsy Centre and offered a place in a Quarriers home where he could receive round the clock care.

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But now the home, Ashgrove, in Quarriers Village, is one of three set to close due to chronic staffing issues - and, once more, the Keegans are fearful of Kevin's future.

"I remember my mum would say, 'I can hardly get a word out of him', because he seemed to always be overdosed due to his medication,'" Mr Keegan said.

"There was no real treatment. And then after my father died in 1982 my mother had him on her own. She died in 1988 and that really left nobody in a position to look after Kevin.

"We spent a couple of years with the council bouncing him around various places."

The family set Kevin up in his own flat and would take it in turns to support him - Mr Keegan would get him up in the morning, another family member would do the laundry, another would make him dinner.

"But that only lasted six months," the retired police officer added.

"It was very difficult because if he had a seizure and he was in his own place, then he just collapsed with nobody there.

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"The council might say the flat is safe because it has a pull cord. But if you have an epileptic seizure, you're not going to pull a pull cord.

"You're collapsed on the floor and you're going nowhere. And basically he could have died just like that."

However, Kevin came to live in Ashgrove around 35 years ago and his life has been transformed in what is one of three small care homes in Quarrier’s Village – Glen Valley, Fountainview and Ashgrove.

All three will now close on March 31 affecting a total of 17 residents.

Kevin has flourished in Ashgill. His medication is carefully monitored and he has round the clock care; he also has a degree of independence, being able to go out alone in the village.

Mr Keegan said he was even told that his brother takes part in interview panels for new staff in the home.

But new staff is the issue. Quarriers is one of a conglomerate of charities - the coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland - petitioning the Scottish Government for increased funding to pay higher wages and help attract more workers to social care.

Low wages and an exodus caused by Brexit have prompted a shortage of skilled care staff.

The village's location, in Inverclyde, means it is difficult to reach without a car and this has put further pressure on staffing.

Dr Ron Culley, Quarriers CEO, said: “Quarriers has announced the difficult decision to close three care homes in Quarrier’s Village.

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"We have faced ongoing difficulties in recruiting the required staff numbers to provide the highest level of care within this care model and geographical location.

“We are working closely with the relevant local authorities and the families of the people we support to ensure that suitable alternative accommodation is secured.

"We offer heartfelt apologies for the disruption this decision will cause to the people we currently support and their families.

“This decision was made with the utmost consideration for the safety and well-being of those in our care."

Individual local authorities are now responsible for finding new homes for the people who have to move from Glen Valley, Fountainview and Ashgrove.

A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council said it is working with the Keegans to "find alternative accommodation and to make the transition as smooth as possible."

Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP), which is also helping to rehouse residents, said a dedicated project team has been established and is in regular contact with all parties.

For the Keegans this uncertainty - especially after 30 years living in the home - is causing huge anxiety, although they have sympathy for the predicament Quarriers finds itself in.

Mr Keegan said: "You can't attract qualified people for £12 an hour. These people have to be qualified, they have to learn a lot.

"They have to know about medications, they have to know about treating people with seizures.

"They can end up being up the whole night with somebody who's having a bad night having seizures, and that's a long shift, and you ask people to do that sort of thing for £12 an hour."

The family is hopeful of finding a suitable place for Kevin soon but are aghast at having to go through the process again, having believed Kevin would live his life in Quarriers.

Mr Keegan added: "When we found Quarriers it was really a transformation - night and day.

"We're not hopeful of finding anything as suitable as that and it is a huge concern to us, and to Kevin.

"We're just hopeful he copes with the transition but it is a long case of wait and see."