Plans for Stirling Care Village Gather Pace

Proposals to create an innovative new care village in the grounds of Stirling Community Hospital have been given the green light to progress. The Outline Business Case for a new integrated health and social care development has been formally approved by the Scottish Government, which means plans can now be taken forward to the next stage. This will include the development of more detailed designs and financial costings. These will form part of a Full Business Case, which will be submitted in the next few months. If approved, construction could commence late 2015 and the new facilities could be operational in Summer 2017. Hub East Central Scotland has played a pivotal role in the complex process of taking forward the development plans, working closely with key stakeholders. This included the original master planning exercise for the project and the development of stage one design proposals. The hubco is now leading the submission of proposals for planning approval and the development of more detailed, costed designs which will facilitate contract close. Neil McCormick, Chief Executive, Hub East Central Scotland, said: “Our team has worked very closely with NHS Forth Valley and Stirling Council to ensure that the programme continues to move towards successful completion. Our aim is to ensure best value and deliver high quality, purpose built facilities that meet the needs of the community.” Tom Steele, NHS Forth Valley’s Director of Estates and Facilities, said: “The approval of these initial plans takes us a significant step closer to creating this important new facility. “A great deal of work has already been carried out by all the partners involved and these plans will now be developed in more detail over the next few months to enable final proposals for the facility to be submitted 2015.” The new Care Village would bring wide range of health, social care and GP services provided by Stirling Council, NHS Forth Valley and a number of local GP practices. These include services for older people who require additional short-term care, an assessment or rehabilitation following an illness, an operation or an acute hospital admission. It would also provide specialist support for patients with dementia and those who require palliative and end of life care. Services would be delivered in a modern, purpose-built facility with more than 100 short-stay care beds. This would provide a comfortable, homely environment for older people to help them recover, regain their independence and, in the majority of cases, return to their own homes. The plans would also see the creation of new facilities to house a number of existing health services on the site including Minor Injuries Services, X-ray and GP out-of-hours services along with a number of local GP practices which are keen to be part of the new development. These include the Viewfield, Park Avenue, Park Terrace and Wallace Medical Practices in Stirling.