Agenda item

4.1       The Chair welcomed Ms Lynn Medley and Ms Carol Hayden to the meeting to provide some insight into the proposed Care Village at Tweedbank.  Ms Hayden explained that she worked for an organisation called the National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTI), an independent organisation which had engaged with a number of different people, groups and organisations including local doctors.  They were keen to hear feedback on the plans from attendees, and were seeking ideas for how the community could work with the care village.  There were a number of different ways which could be used to assist the community in interacting with the care village, including social enterprises or the social hub method.   Ms Medley presented the plans, and explained that when the new facility in Tweedbank was opened, the existing facilities at Garden View and Waverley Care Home would close.  The care village represented a whole new vision of care, and would be a much more integrated way of delivering care.  The plans as they were presented were almost finalised, with minor tweaks still expected to occur.  Within the plans there would be provision for Aberlour and another learning development company.  Three residential blocks would be present in the village. Each block covered two floors, and each floor was divided into two homes of five.   A social hub and residents’ hub would be present in the village.  Each home would have five bedrooms, each with their own en-suite bathroom.  The facility was unique in that if the circumstances were appropriate, such as siblings, then a joint room could be configured to provide a double space.  A family retreat room would be provided in each room of five, which would allow family members to stay overnight.  All visitors would have to pass through the entrance building, which had provisions in place for changing facilities for staff.  The residents’ hub was expected to have a craft room, a music room, and a hairdresser.  There would be a room for visiting services, such as dentists or GPs, and a gym/physio therapy space.  The social hub would have a café/bar, which would allow residents and visitors to sit together for meals.  A village shop, which could potentially be run as a community interest company, would also be present.  It was expected that facilities such as the village hall would be used by the wider community as well as residents of the care village.  There was no intention to replace the existing community centre in Tweedbank. 

4.2       The Chair explained that she had previously visited a care village in the Netherlands, the philosophy of which the Tweedbank Care Village had been based upon.  The key aim of the care village was to change the approach to care, and ensure that residents were engaged with their local communities.  Ms Morag Walker expressed her hopes that a community interest company or social enterprise would be an ideal fit for the facility and offered to assist the integration programme.  In response to a question regarding capacity, Ms Medley explained that 60 residents was the total capacity, and that discussions had been ongoing with regard to the composition of the village.  There would be 25 intermediate care beds; five beds for respite and step-up care provision; 15 enhanced dementia beds; and 15 long stay beds.  The whole village was planned to be dementia-friendly, and flexibility had been of utmost importance when the plans were drawn up.  The composition could be changed based on demand and needs.  Regarding the surrounding area, and whether food and vegetables would be grown there for residents, Ms Medley explained that the focus so far had been on the overall footprint of the building.  Attention would shift to the internal elements of the building, and then the external groundwork.  Discussions were ongoing with SBC’s Greenspace Programme Officer to develop a support group who could assist with food growing in the village.  A specific group would be set up to assess the landscape and architecture in the future.  Ms Hayden explained that feedback on the development of the garden areas had been common at the drop-in sessions, and third sector organisations were interested.  Regarding the age groups of the residents, Ms Medley explained that registration was for those aged 65 and over.  Whilst the care village residents would be limited to the aforementioned age group, the other facilities, such as for Aberlour, would ensure that the overall park would be multi-generational.  The importance of communication and integration was highlighted.  The importance of intergenerational work was raised as being very important.  Further questions were invited from attendees, which would be dealt with via email.  Mr Harrow expressed his hope that Ms Medley and Ms Hayden would be able to attend a future meeting of the Eildon Area Partnership.