Work has started on Aberdeen’s first purpose-built complex care accommodation for vulnerable people.
The £4million development, on the site of the now-demolished Stoneywood School on Stoneywood Road, will deliver homes for eight people with complex care needs, offering care around the clock.
Support for its residents will be provided by a specialist operator with expertise in the field. The care will be overseen by Aberdeen City Health & Social Care Partnership (ACHSCP) when the Aberdeen City Council capital project is completed and operational.
Aberdeen Integration Joint Board (IJB) chair Councillor John Cooke said: “We have long recognised the vital need to create purpose-built accommodation here in the city for those in our community with extremely complex care needs who need round-the-clock support..
“This development will be of great benefit for our local people who are currently often cared for well beyond the city boundary, sometimes hundreds of miles away, They will soon be able to stay here in the city and their wellbeing will be improved immeasurably.
“This exciting project marks a step-change in addressing a long-standing need in Aberdeen and will contribute hugely to the quality of life of its future residents, their families and their friends.”
Each of the eight wheelchair-adapted bungalows will have a bedroom, a kitchen, a living room and a wet room, along with a small private garden. A shared garden space and a sensory garden are also part of the scheme – along with a staff building with office space, a meeting/training room, and an area for carers to take time out. Staff will be on site at all times. The development will have 28 car parking spaces for staff and visitors.
The buildings are all designed to a Passivhaus (ultra-low energy) standard of environmental performance and will feature low and zero carbon energy generating technologies to minimise greenhouse gas emissions. Existing trees will be retained, and new trees and soft landscaping will be planted on the site.
The project is being delivered by Aberdeen City Council, Mackie Ramsey Taylor Architects and builders Ogilvie Construction. Completion is expected next spring, weather permitting..
The IJB oversees health and social care services in the city and is responsible for strategic planning for their delivery.
The project is in line with Health & Social Care Partnership’s Strategic Plan key aims, which include keeping people safe at home and helping them to achieve fulfilling, healthy lives. The Partnership’s Complex Care Programme aims to create suitable local accommodation and associated care provision for people with complex care needs.
The scheme also aligns with the Scottish Government’s Coming Home agenda, which aims to reduce delayed discharges and inappropriate out-of-area placements for people with learning disabilities and complex care needs.
