Information Bulletin
Future Care Services for Older People in Shetland
At a meeting on 24 January 2008, the Council’s Services Committee considered reports presenting the findings of a review of long term care for Shetland.
The reports mark the culmination of work carried out over the last two years. This has been undertaken by staff in the Council and NHS Shetland working closely with representatives from voluntary sector groups, service users and family carers. The outcome is a proposed model for the development of care settings across the isles and complementary proposals for the care services that will be needed to support people with high care needs and increasing numbers of older people with dementia.
Services Committee heard that the biggest challenge facing health and care services locally is to meet the needs of an ageing population in a way that is appropriate for a remote islands community and sustainable in the long term. The need to increase capacity in line with demographic changes is not peculiar to Shetland however, services provided at Viewforth House which provides dedicated dementia care services for Shetland and also at Isleshavn in Yell are facing additional difficulties due to the limitations of the buildings.
Population projections indicate that an additional 120 care places will be needed in Shetland by 2024. The proposed model for accommodation recommends that additional care places should comprise a mix of residential care and very sheltered housing similar to that provided at King Erik House in Lerwick. Approximately 50% of the additional places would be in Lerwick. Additional care places in the rural areas would be co-located as far as possible with existing care centre provision and/or sheltered housing schemes.
Care provision would make extensive use of Telecare e.g. using electronic equipment to promote independence and help carers provide a more flexible, responsive service to meet care needs.
Chair of Services Committee, Councillor Gussie Angus, said that he was pleased to see the results of the long term care review and dementia redesign projects coming forward. He hoped that this would lead to real progress in replacing Viewforth House and Isleshavn, which no longer meet the standards required for care homes and also in developing the additional capacity that we need locally to meet the needs of our community well into the future.
Vice Chair, Councillor Betty Fullerton, encouraged staff to bring back detailed proposals at the earliest opportunity.
For further information please contact Christine Ferguson, Head of Community Care at Hayfield House, Lerwick, telephone 01595 743819.