First Minister Nicola Sturgeon opens new Thistle Foundation wellbeing centre

Thistle Foundation Centre of Wellbeing launch, by Ian Jacobs​

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has opened a new wellbeing centre in Craigmillar to be run by the Thistle Foundation charity.

The Thistle Foundation, which supports over 200 Scots a day living with long term conditions, says the new facility will help people maintain and improve their health with a subsidised gym and a range of activities.

There are also spaces available for other organisations from the Craigmillar area, where the charity has been based for 72 years.

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Sturgeon joined people supported by the charity to bury a time capsule at the centre to mark its opening.

“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,” she said.

The charity’s chief executive Diana Noel-Paton said the centre was more than just a building.

“Its boundaries go beyond the walls of the structure and into the lives of people we support and their families.

“As Scotland puts its health and social care delivery under the microscope, we hope the new Centre and our distinctive person-centred approach will provide inspiration for the future delivery of support to people with long term health conditions and disabilities,” she said.