Time capsule burial marks charity’s opening of Centre of Wellbeing in Edinburgh

By The Press Association14th June 2016News ScotlandEdinburgh / Lothians, Health and Wellbeing, Integrated Care, News Scotland, Social Care

Nicola Sturgeon has buried a charity time capsule to mark the opening of a new health and social care centre.

Containing photos, jewellery, clothes and archived material from people who have used the Thistle Foundation, the time capsule will not be opened until 2044.

It was buried in the garden of the charity’s new Centre of Wellbeing in Edinburgh which will help people with long term health conditions.

The Thistle Foundation currently supports over 200 people every day dealing with illness and disability to manage their health care.

The First Minister said: “Bringing health and social care together is a key priority of the Scottish Government and third sector organisations such as Thistle have a vital role to play.

“We are supporting work to ensure that services are brought together to meet the needs and demands of people within communities across Scotland and the Thistle Foundation’s Centre of Wellbeing is a great example of this vision in practice.”

Thistle’s chief executive Diana Noel-Paton, said: “Our new Centre of Wellbeing is not just a building and its boundaries go beyond the walls of the structure and into the lives of people we support and their families.

“Our new centre will dramatically improve our capacity to work with more people who need our support. This kind of work is absolutely vital –helping people make small changes that have a big impact means profound improvement in quality of life, meaning people are less likely to need support from the public health care system.

“It’s crucial we see people as resourceful and able to make meaningful contributions to their wider community. We consistently see this in the people we work with.”