The owner of a private nursing home in York says he has been forced out of business by the low rates paid for council-placed patients and the difficulty of finding quality nursing staff.

Geoff Whitaker, 54, who has owned The Mount nursing home, in The Mount, for 20 years, closes his doors at the end of the month, and all 31 patients will move to other homes.

Mr Whitaker claims he has only been able to carry on this long because he employs five family members who work long and inconvenient hours.

His wife, Susan, has been working nights for eight months and the couple have not shared a family Christmas at home for 20 years.

Mr Whitaker receives between £335 and £340 a week from City of York Council for his council-placed patients, which he says works out at £2 per hour.

Private patients, he says, pay £407 per week.

Mr Whitaker says he is only able to pay care worker staff just under £4 an hour and struggles to find the funds for qualified Registered General Nurses (RGNs), who can command more than £12 per hour.

He said: "I was telling the health authority 15 years ago that we were short of staff and now it's even worse and because of this we're having to pay the earth for them. There's a shortage of trained nurses and carers. I don't think there's one nursing home in York that can get to normal staffing levels.

"Whether we like it or not, the Government is closing nursing homes down, but they've got nothing in place for looking after these people."

Bill Hodson, assistant director of customer services at City of York Council, said: "The council hasn't been able to meet home owners' demands of what they think the price should be, but we pay a figure which is no lower, or higher, than other authorities in the area.

"There are issues in all types of nursing, whether it is within hospitals or primary care, with getting and retaining high-quality staff and care assistants, and in York there is a clear shortage of these workers which we recognise.

"I've had many meetings with nursing home owners about how we can try to resolve these issues but the council has been overspending on the budget and now we are trying to make an argument to the Government, via MP Hugh Bayley, for more money.

"In York we're looking at an increasingly ageing population who need residential and nursing care.

"The elderly population generally is projected to increase significantly over the next five to ten years. We anticipate a need to support more people in the community, but make sure that people who do need residential care can receive it."