The £2.6 million facility, which can accommodate 18 patients, was praised by Ms Robison for its homely atmosphere and hailed as a 'terrific example of designing care to match people's needs'.

Designed by Edinburgh-based Richard Murphy Architects, the unit has been shortlisted in the category of best mental health in-patient project in the Better Building Healthcare awards.

Named Elmview ward, the unit is a stand-alone, single-storey, U-shaped building with en suite bedrooms that overlook a south-facing sensory garden.

Each room has its own individual pitched roof as in a small house, so that patients have a sense of their own identity in their own private space.

Ms Robison said: "Although more and more people with dementia are being cared for in their own homes, for some the best treatment is provided on an in-patient basis.

"It's vital that they are cared for in environments that are as homely and home-like as possible, and this new ward at Stratheden does just that.

"In creating Elmview, NHS Fife has shown how much more we now understand about the important part that buildings have to play in the care of long-stay patients."

Jim McGoldrick, chair of NHS Fife, said: "This new ward was specifically designed for this client group based on the work of the Dementia Research Development Centre at Stirling University.

"The access to outdoors, including the sensory garden, adds hugely to the residents' quality of life."

The patient group cared for in this ward were previously located in a generically designed, upper floor unit in Whyteman's Brae Hospital in Kirkcaldy.