Purpose-built building is just the job
who need palliative care.
The centre has a cafe and a hairdresser, dining and social areas to combat isolation as well as courtyard gardens and roof terraces.
It can accommodate up to 116 people in en-suite rooms across four areas. It also has a free space which can be used by community groups and volunteers.
During her visit the health secretary chatted with patients and staff, hearing that good practice from other facilities, including Beech Gardens and Allan Lodge, had been incorporated.
Staff described how they built positive relationships with patients, supporting but not dictating decisions about what care they needed.
Stirling Health and Care Village is a joint venture between NHS Forth Valley, Stirling Council, the Clackmannanshire and Stirling Integration Joint Board, and the Scottish Ambulance Service.
Speaking at the facility, Jeane Freeman said: “Patients, their families, and staff all benefit from health and social care services that are joined up and I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge all the project partners for the way they’ve worked together to deliver this fantastic asset.
“I will take away how lovely, bright and well designed the buildings are. They seem to be completely focused from ground up on the people who use them.
“Another thing which struck me is how focused the service is on individuals. Person-centred care is a critical component of our health service.
“When we see it we know it’s there and I have seen it this morning in all the staff, the way the buildings have been designed and the patients I have had a chance to speak to.
“They don’t say it’s ‘a person centre service’– people just don’t speak like that – but we can certainly feel it.
“Physically this is an example of what we would like to see, but regardless of that there is a focus of respecting individuals and helping them become well, live their lives in the best way they can and the way they want which is absolutely critical.
“Thank you to all who work here and do this every single day.”
Ms Freeman described as “stunning” a bench she unveiled within the centre to mark the occasion, designed by the Bellfield’s artist in residence Jason Nelson.
NHS Forth Valley chief executive Cathie Cowan, said: “This site has a long and proud history as it was the home of the former Stirling Royal Infirmary – opened in 1928 by the Duke and Duchess of York, later to become King George the VI and Queen Elizabeth (the future Queen Mother) – and, more recently, Stirling Community Hospital.
“This official opening marks the start of an exciting new chapter which will ensure the site continues to play an important role in the delivery of high quality local health and care services.”
The main contractors in the development were Robertson Construction and the project was developed through hub East Central Scotland, a joint partnership between public and private sector organisations.
Forth Valley College also plans to deliver a range of training, education and skills development to support the current and future workforce within the care village and across the wider health and social care sector.
The Bellfield Centre provides an intermediate care integrated health and social care service for older people within the Stirling and Clackmannanshire area.
Trained staff provide health and social care with a rehab approach, supported by occupational therapists, physiotherapists and portfolio care teams.
With 116 rooms over three floors, the lower ground floor – the Castle suite - has 16 rooms where care is provided for people with a diagnosis of mental illness and/or dementia.
There are also two independent living flats, which help the team assess as realistically as possible how a person is likely to cope when they return to their own home. They also have the benefit of allowing family members to have more interaction.
The Argyll suite on the ground floor features 48 Intermediate care rooms as well as two independent living flats. On the first floor the Thistle suite has 16 intermediate care rooms, while the Wallace suite also has 32 rooms where care is provided for individuals with complex health needs.
All rooms in the Bellfield Centre have en-suite showers and there is also a bathroom with accessible bath in each suite to allow a choice of facilities.
A community hub set up and run by the third sector is also on the first floor, offering a hairdressers, library area, quiet space, cafe and group activities.