Ground Breaking Respite Facility for Central Scotland

A desperately needed short-stay residential care facility has been opened by Margaret Blackwood Housing Association within their development at Broom Court, Bannockburn Road, Stirling. The Association has converted a semi-detached house within the scheme into a purpose-designed centre with three fully furnished bedrooms, each with en-suite facilities designed to meet the needs of disabled people. The house, which also includes a comfortable lounge and well equipped kitchen, is a major advance on more institutional forms of respite accommodation and allows guests to live as independently as they wish.

The pioneering venture is the result of a highly successful partnership between the Association, Stirling Council and Communities Scotland. The house is available to disabled people throughout central Scotland as well as from further afield.

Morag Spence, Care Services manager at Broom Court, told us, "There is a serious shortage of short-stay accommodation within central Scotland for disabled people needing a break from their regular carers. Now we can offer this comfortable appointed house, designed with plenty of space for wheelchair users and with a lift between the ground and first floors. Each of the three bedrooms has its own facilities and they have been beautifully adapted to meet the needs of people who have a broad range of disabilities. The house itself has a number of security features to keep guests safe, including a sprinkler system fitted throughout."

The house and equipment are only part of the package, however. Morag went on to say, "We provide individually tailored personal care packages with full 24-hour support which is designed in collaboration with the guests. We will also be able to arrange trips and outings to places of particular interest. Whilst they are with us, our guests will be able to use all of the additional facilities that the neighbouring Supported Accommodation Unit has to offer, including having their meals in the restaurant. Additionally, with the Association being one of the leading providers of support and care in Scotland, we can guarantee that our members of staff are all carefully vetted and properly trained to provide the highest standard of service."

Bookings for the house are already running at a high level, prompting the Association's Care Services Director, Alan Roberts, to say, "The success of the house is already clear, even at this early stage. Given the skills and expertise Margaret Blackwood has in-house and acknowledging the need for more capacity in the short-stay respite market, we hope that this is going to be the first of a number of similar houses we will be able to open across Scotland over the next few years."

If you would like further information about the respite please contact paull@mbha.org.uk.

Or, if you would like to book the respite house please contact morags@mbha.org.uk.

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