Finnish Delegation visit Scottish Outer Hebrides
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar welcomed a delegation from Finnish organisation, Folkhälsan, to the Goathill Campus, Stornoway for a research trip into models of dementia care. Folkhälsan is the largest Swedish-speaking organisation in Finland and have recently launched their Strategic Development Plan 2026-2030. A core component of this strategy is the development of housing for older people and for people living with a dementia.
The Folkhälsan delegation was given a tour of the Goathill Campus, with a focus on dementia care facilities and the campus’s Alzheimer's Hub.
The successful visit was arranged by the University of Stirling’s Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC) and led by Prof. Lesley Palmer. The Goathill Campus received Gold Accreditation from the DSDC, in recognition of meeting the highest standards of dementia friendly design and the Folkhälsan team wished to see the project in person.
Following their visit to Goathill, Folkhälsan visited independent living housing in Alloa, Clackmannanshire and three public buildings in Inverclyde, each designed to the DSDC’s dementia-friendly design principles.
Speaking following the visit Emma Macsween, Chief Officer of the Western Isles Integration Joint Board, said:
“It was excellent to welcome Folkhälsan to the Goathill Campus. During the design stages of the Goathill campus project we took advise from industry experts and viewed examples of good work in other areas of the country. To see our facilities being used as international examples of how things should be done is a full circle moment for the service and demonstrates the success of the project in delivering high quality dementia care services. I would like to thank DSDC for facilitating this visit and our visitors from Folkhälsan for making it such an interesting and useful experience for all involved.”
