The £4.5 million Stoneywood Road development will deliver specialist accommodation for eight people, offering care around the clock to some of the city’s most vulnerable people, and will welcome its first residents this month.

The new accommodation is enabling people who have up to now been cared for in hospitals and facilities outwith Aberdeen to be looked after in their home city. Their new homes meet the needs of people with the most complex of needs, and the building, environment and support model have all been designed specifically with them in mind.

Each of the eight wheelchair-adapted bungalows has a bedroom, a kitchen, a living room and a wet room, along with a small private garden. The building specifications were drawn up to include a maximised footprint for each bungalow, appropriate layout and design, and the use of robust materials.

A shared garden space and a sensory garden are also part of the scheme – along with a staff building with office space, a meeting/training room, and an area  for carers to take time out. Staff will be on site at all times. The development has 28 car parking spaces for staff and visitors.

The buildings are all designed to ultra-low energy environmental performance standards, featuring low and zero-carbon technologies. Existing trees around the site have been maintained, and new trees and soft landscaping have been included in the redevelopment of the site of the former Stoneywood School. The developers are KJ Tait, which has offices across the UK, including in Aberdeen.

Aberdeen Integration Joint Board (IJB) chair Hussein Patwa said: “I am delighted to see the opening of the city’s first bespoke accommodation for people with extremely complex care needs who need 24-hour specialist support.

“This groundbreaking collaboration between Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeen City Health and Social Care Partnership will be of huge benefit to local vulnerable people, who will be supported in the community to build new connections.

“The people who are moving in are currently cared for beyond the city boundary – and this project will bring them home, closer to their families and friends, supporting the wellbeing of the new residents and everyone close to them.”

Aberdeen City Council co-leader Cllr Christian Allard said: “Aberdeen City Council has had a long-held ambition to create purpose-built accommodation here in the city for those in our community with extremely complex care needs and in need of round-the-clock support.

“This development will be of great benefit for local people who are currently cared for well beyond the city boundary who will now be able to stay here in the city. Their wellbeing will be improved immeasurably.”

IJB member and Chair of the IJB’s Risk, Audit and Performance Committee Cllr Martin Greig said: “This new, high quality building has been long awaited. It demonstrates our commitment to look after the wellbeing of those with extensive health care requirements. More and more people require care and support and there is also an increasing diversity in the range of needs that individuals are experiencing. It is so good to open this important local facility as a welcome and important service for the benefit of so many in the city.”

Support for the residents will be provided by The Richmond Fellowship Scotland (TRFS). TRFS Chief Executive Officer Austen Smyth said: “We look forward to working with Aberdeen City Health and Social Care Partnership to deliver this vitally important service. I applaud the ambition and strategic vision behind Stoneywood, and the determination to meet the aims and objectives of the Coming Home report.

“Through our experience, our investment in complex-needs training, and infrastructure that includes Scotland’s largest Positive Behaviour Support Team; we will provide a sector-leading service that will deliver real outcomes and improve quality of life.

“I wish the new residents at Stoneywood every happiness in their new home and give assurance that the Richmond Fellowship Scotland will help them to live safe, fun and fulfilled lives.”

The project is in line with the Aberdeen City Health and Social Care Partnership’s Strategic Plan, which includes a key aim to keep people safe at home and help them to achieve fulfilling, healthy lives. The Partnership’s Complex Care Programme aims to create suitable local accommodation and associated care provision for people with complex care needs.

The scheme also aligns with the Scottish Government’s Coming Home agenda, which aims to reduce delayed discharges and inappropriate out-of-area placements for people with learning disabilities and complex care needs.

Mental Wellbeing Minister Tom Arthur MSP said: “I am delighted to see the opening of the new complex care accommodation site in Stoneywood Road. We want people to receive the right care, in the right place and, where possible, within their own communities.

“The development supports our commitment to the Coming Home Implementation Report, ensuring people with learning disabilities and complex needs are spending less time in hospital or out of area and can be fully supported in their own communities.

“I’m very grateful to Aberdeen City Health and Social Care Partnership for their efforts in developing this vital facility.”