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 then start in Summer 2015 and the new facilities could be operational in Summer 2017.

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.”

Val de Souza, Stirling Council’s Head of Social Services, said: “Stirling Council has worked closely with NHS Forth Valley and Forth Valley College to develop the outline business case. We welcome its approval and remain committed to working in partnership with NHS Forth Valley to develop services for older people and people with dementia who may require short-term care, support and rehabilitation services.

“We continue to work with our partners to ensure plans are developed in more detail over the next few months. This will ensure that services are delivered in a modern, purpose-built facility which provides a homely and safe environment for older people.”

Forth Valley College Principal Dr Ken Thomson said: “We’re delighted that initial plans for a new care village have been approved. This ground-breaking project will play an important role in Stirling’s future and we’re thrilled to be involved.   The facility could offer fantastic scope for vocational training and development.”

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.

There would also be the potential to develop a range of onsite recreational facilities such as a café and a hair salon where older people could socialise and meet up with friends and family.

The Scottish Ambulance Service has put forward plans to relocate their existing ambulance station in the Riverside area of Stirling to a new facility on the Stirling Community Hospital site. There are longer term plans to explore the development of commercial, flexible and adaptable housing and a masterplan has been developed to show where the different health, social care and potential new housing could be located on the site.