The original idea of a caring campus for Dumfries and Galloway came from the academic institutes within the Crichton Campus and has been discussed across several organisations since 2014.
Two events took place in 2016 to explore how ‘The Crichton Care Campus’ may look. The first, in October, was a public dissemination event – ‘Re-imagining Care in Dumfries and Galloway’ and was attended by 60 participants from across the public, third and independent sectors. As well as this, focus groups with 50 older people were run by 3 undergraduate students from the University of Glasgow.
The interest and energy gained from these events, and renewed support from key partners, resulted in three streams of work being developed. The first of these is the Care Campus Project. Our project’s main aim is to assess the feasibility of developing opportunities for a new rural care model, with links across Dumfries and Galloway. The project is funded until September 2019 by LEADER, and other local supporters, and employs 3 part-time staff.
Our small team is currently identifying the housing and care needs within the region and talking to key stakeholders from across the public, third and independent sectors about the wider needs and challenges that we face. In the later stages of the project, a community consultation will be carried out with several communities across the region to find out what people want as they age and what can help to make Dumfries and Galloway the best place to grow old.
Image Credit: View of Criffel by Lisa Fuller
This work is taking place alongside two other streams of work that emerged from the events in 2016. The second is the advancement of a physical development on, or near, the Crichton Campus. This could include many innovative aspects, such as intergenerational housing, a teaching care home and nursery, as well as contemporary design and eco-friendly buildings. There would also be links with academic institutes on the campus. The leading advocate for this project is David Clark, Professor of Medical Sociology at the University of Glasgow, in Dumfries. He is also the Technical Director for the funded Care Campus Project. The final stream is the Academy of Care, which is being taken forward by the Open University, with links to the academic institutes at the Crichton Campus. This project is re-imagining how care training is provided in Dumfries and Galloway.
The vision for the future is that the outcomes of the Care Campus Project will help to inform any physical development on or near the Crichton Campus and will also link in with the Academy of Care, whilst ensuring that the positive effects are felt on a regional basis.
You can read more about our vision here: The Vision
