First Minister Nicola Sturgeon joined those supported by Thistle Foundation in Craigmillar earlier today to bury a time capsule.
Thistle Foundation is a Scottish charity working to transform health and social care delivery in Scotland and the First Minister buried a time capsule of symbolic items to celebrate the opening of its new purpose-built Centre of Wellbeing.
The time capsule will mark the 72 year history of the Thistle Foundation, as the charity looks to the future of health and social care delivery in Scotland and how the country supports the 2 million people living with a disability or long term health condition.
The new Centre of Wellbeing embodies Thistle’s commitment to working with people who have long term health conditions to live well. Being able to self-manage means living well in its widest sense, as well as reducing reliance on GPs, and other medical professionals. The new Centre also embodies Thistle’s contribution to national policy to transform health and social care in Scotland, changes that the charity hopes will breathe life into a much needed ‘person centred’ approach which it already uses to support over 200 people a day. The charity hopes to inspire others across health and social care sectors.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “Bringing health and social care together is a key priority of the Scottish Government and third sector organisations such as Thistle have a vital role to play.
“We are supporting work to ensure that services are brought together to meet the needs and demands of people within communities across Scotland and the Thistle Foundation’s Centre of Wellbeing is a great example of this vision in practice.”
Thistle’s Chief Executive Diana Noel-Paton, said: “Our new Centre of Wellbeing is not just a building and its boundaries go beyond the walls of the structure and into the lives of people we support and their families. As Scotland puts its health and social care delivery under the microscope, we hope the new Centre and our distinctive person-centred approach will provide inspiration for the future delivery of support to people with long term health conditions and disabilities.”
The Thistle Foundation currently supports over 200 people every day with long term health conditions (including disabilities) to maintain and improve their health and wellbeing so they can better manage life with a condition and live the life they want. The organisation works with a wide range of people: from young people with additional support needs who are leaving school, to veterans who are adjusting to civilian life with long term conditions, to adults with long term conditions. Through its training and consultancy arm, it also works with over 350 health and social care workers each year to develop best practice. The charity delivers services across the central belt of Scotland, while training and consultancy work has national reach.
The Centre of Wellbeing will enable the charity to support more people with long term health conditions to improve their health and wellbeing, as well as work with more health and social care workers to develop best practice. The Centre will be a vibrant new shared space for the local community in Craigmillar, where the charity has been based for 72 years, and provide support and services for anyone in Edinburgh living with a long term condition.
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