Spring 2024 Update

As we move forward with Our Inclusive Community Project (OICP) we have continued to learn about co-production and how we can embed this approach within our design project and service model delivery. We recognise  that OICP his a multi-faceted project; to support our approach we have updated our Co-Production Strategy which outlines what Co-Production means to Capability Scotland and OICP.

We have established a Bertha Park Community Council who meet on a regular basis providing the opportunity for the people we support to ask questions, contribute ideas, and talk to each other about the OICP. This forum is open to any of the people we support. For those who have expressed an interest in attending, but are unavailable on the day, the Co-Production Leader will have a follow up meeting with them so they can share their views. We want all our supported people have the opportunity to engage in the process. Using a variety of communication methods ensures that information is delivered in a meaningful way and that all of our supported people are given a voice and are listened to. The valuable feedback from these meetings have been fed back to the Design Team to support the development of the design concept.

The mock flat has continued to evolve to include accessible environmental controls. Nick and Chris from Function Control have installed electrical functions such as lights, blinds, thermostats and controls to give real examples of what could be available to residents in their new home. It is a fantastic opportunity to gather feedback and test  what functions/controls are preferred by residents and how they could increase their levels of independence. We plan to use this facility in the future to work with Occupational Therapists to assess where equipment can be positioned on an individualised basis to best promote independence and active participation for each person.

We will continue to use the flat to explore the use of digital health monitoring and data capture to support the health and wellbeing of residents; seeking input from staff, the people we support and their families to establish their views on this ever evolving technology. Families and staff had the opportunity to meet Nick and Chris at our OICP Christmas event, to ask questions about the technology and see it in place in use.

As the OICP progresses we will be inviting staff, people we support and their family members to contribute to meetings led by members of the Design Team, harnessing individual views and lived experience. We want to find out and focus on what matters to people, continue to build relationships and develop networks across the community to build an exemplar inclusive facility and help shape the future development of care provision.

Spring 2023 Update

Throughout the spring and summer of 2022 over 600 comments, from staff, families and customers, using full sized studio bedroom “mock up”, as a focal point, have been collected. Whilst we sought initial views around the studio bedroom’s size, basic layout and accessibility, the open and encouraging co-production engagement process, has prompted questions and recommendations ranging from the importance of storage to how we could better support personal growth.

Each response is captured and analysed by Architecture and Design Scotland together with our architects AB&C. Feedback has been broken down into 10 different categories to zone common themes, this valuable information is informing a significant part of the Design Statement document which will be presented, for further comments, to staff, families and customers in various workshops and questionnaires. This document will ultimately evolve into a Design Brief with the architects to start drafting out design options for consideration in early 2023.

In addition, the architects spent several days at Upper Springland talking to customers and staff about what’s important in their daily routines, establishing what could be better, within both the working and home environments. The architects also recorded feedback about the importance of therapies, activities, interactions with the wider community and the current service / support systems.

The focus around the mock up has initially been primarily around the use and practicalities of the space and how people would access and move around their new home. However, we are now proposing to trial and experiment with different features and personalisation such as furniture, colours and assistive technologies.

Given the open design located in part of our existing theatre space, there is also the opportunity to host discussions and even enjoy drama sessions to allow residents to better express their feelings about a new home and a move from Upper Springland.

Co-production work with the mock-up is an ongoing and will evolve until all design and service elements have been shared and opinions logged. We will continue to instruct contractors to alter the mock-up based on this process.