Colonel Martin Gibson was chief executive at Erskine from 1995 to 2009, a period which saw Erskine’s transformation from war-time hospital to a 21^st century care home providing nursing, residential and dementia care for veterans.

Col Martin Gibson, moved from being Chief of Staff of the Army in Scotland to chief executive of the hospital in 1995. It was still referred to as Erskine Hospital, even occasionally as the Princess Louise Scottish Hospital, although most of its patients were elderly and in need of day-to-day care rather than surgery, was an indication of just how out of date some aspects were.

When he arrived, there were four residents who had served in the First World War, 77 years after the end of that conflict, a testament to the care they had received. “One could describe being in a trench with horse-drawn gun carriages going over the top of him. Imagine what that must feel like. I had the privilege of sharing their experiences that were the foundation of Erskine and it allowed me to relate to that”.

He was very quickly convinced, however, that nothing short of a radical culture change was required. "It was very much a hospital model when it came to care. I remember the nurses in their headdresses going round. At 9.30 in the morning, I saw many men, and a few ladies, who had been moved out of the wards, with their curtained-off beds, so that the wards could be cleaned.”  He recalls having a “debate” about this that was the first step in the culture shift from treating patients to caring for residents.

 “Since the old building had been deemed not fit for purpose, in addition to the day-to-day running, my role was to take the place forward”. The complexity of simultaneously rebuilding, changing the way things were run and disposing of the mansion proved a considerable challenge and started to rule his life, says Gibson. He found he needed diplomacy.

“The staff were absolutely committed but the overall approach had to change and none of us are good at the unknown. I had to encourage people to lead staff forward because care staff are very precious but we had to tell people who had been there for years that it was not as good as they thought”.

Many care homes found it difficult to meet new requirements for fire safety and more privacy. Erskine, however, had to cater for the different needs of a wide variety of residents, whose ages then ranged from 30 to 99. He recalls they worked very hard with the regulators to meet the new requirements. Staff groups set up to consult on design resulted in rooms large enough take a hospital bed (a considerable plus as more residents need nursing) as well as a sitting area and en-suite.

There was also the difficult issue of funding and the wider one of how to publicise the change.   “At the same time, we had to go through a rebranding exercise because we could no longer be the Princess Louise Scottish Hospital. It became Erskine after much discussion.  If you are running a charity that is looking for tens of millions of pounds, branding is important. We were able to pay for all the new buildings and not run down the capital. The majority of people there now had nothing to do with combat but they were prepared to go to combat, so when you are fundraising you have to explain that to people when you are asking for their money. There were tough times but when you were having a bad day, if you went out and talked to people in the homes or the staff, you were inspired”.

The workshops were an integral part of the Erskine formula from the beginning, with some of the early amputees involved in making artificial limbs for their comrades, perhaps the most practical demonstration ever of soldiers being brothers in arms. In Col Gibson’s time the workshops included a printworks and a small furniture factory which provided sheltered employment for those unable to move back into their communities. There was also a nursery garden, growing produce for the kitchens and to sell to the public. All three eventually proved too uneconomic as the residents grew older and markets in these areas became increasingly competitive.

He acknowledges that Erskine was ahead of the curve with physiotherapy, speech therapy and recreation and an understanding that activities are very important to stimulate minds. He is particularly pleased that Erskine Park, the specialist home for people with dementia, has been very successful. “The staff have to have a close relationship and understand the whole person. I will always remember a Burns Supper where a patient who never spoke suddenly burst into song”.

It fell to him to oversee the great flitting in 2000 to the new Erskine Home in 2000 but the £20 million Erskine 2000 programme also included the establishment of Erskine Mains in the town itself.

Erskine Edinburgh in 2001, The Erskine Park Home in 2006 and The Erskine Glasgow Home  in 2007. There was considerable concern among some long-term residents about losing the companionship of the dormitory wards, in some cases after decades. Team spirit got them through. Gibson said he was always amazed at the resilience of many of the residents. “Despite illness, or injury from conflict, they have that spirit which is unique to people who've been in the armed forces, and that is what is at the heart of Erskine. It brings out the best in them. Even in adversity, there is an amazing sense of humour and it is our job to keep that going.

“The bottom line is that we are here to care for those men and women who put their lives on the line for their country, or were prepared to. Many of them had friends who made the ultimate sacrifice, and this is as true today as it was at the end of the Second World War”.

Adapted from “A Century of Care” Erskine 1916-2016

To find out more about Erskine’s work please visit our website at www.erskine.org.uk, follow on twitter @ErskineCharity via Facebook www.facebook.com/ErskineVeteransCharity or listen to Erskine Veterans Radio at Erskine.org.uk/radio or Paisley FM 107.5