Meet the Lochduhar Care Home Team

Our wonderful team comprises nurses, carers, activities coordinators, chefs, housekeepers and more. These people are here to ensure that residents enjoy their time at the home and are supported to live life to the fullest. Meet some of our staff below:

Gillian Ward

General Manager

Hi, my name is Gillian, and I am the General Manager here at Lochduhar. Welcome to our website!

I have been very fortunate to have had a career in nursing that has spanned both the NHS and the independent sector since qualifying as a registered nurse in 1989. I studied a BA in Nursing Studies in Glasgow from 1985-89 and then graduated with an MSc in Palliative Care in 2014 from Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh.

Previous roles have involved working with older people, working within an acute surgical ward and, before joining Lochduhar, I spent working in a hospice as Head of Care, leading and managing staff to deliver palliative and end of life care to patients with life-limiting illnesses, and also supporting their families and carers.

I am a dedicated, qualified nurse and my real passion lies with ensuring every resident is treated with respect and dignity and the care they receive is of the highest standard, which reflects their individual needs.

I am responsible for effectively inspiring and leading the staff team to ensure the delivery of an excellent standard of care that promotes independence and dignity and positively enhances the lives of individual residents in our care.

Kirsten Dalgarno

Deputy Manager

I started working here as a Care Assistant in 2009, leaving for a short time to concentrate on my nursing degree before I returned to the home as a Staff Nurse. Since then, I have been working my way up to my current role.

A brief spell working in an acute hospital setting confirmed my passion for working with older adults, and I’m currently undertaking a Masters Degree in Gerontology with Dementia Care. I am very passionate about providing high quality, person-centred care to those we support, ensuring we enable individuals to live their lives to the fullest.

Maricel Regatillo

Nurse Unit Manager

Cel joined the Lochduhar team 18 years ago as a Registered Nurse.

Cel was promoted to Senior Nurse a few years ago, and has since had another promotion and is now Nurse Unit Manger.

Cel said she is giving high quality care to our residents, whilst ensuring that their wishes, likes and dislikes are adhered to. She enjoys getting to know our residents and engaging with them and their families. Cel said she also enjoys working as part of a good team of colleagues.

Hazel McConnell

Senior Nurse

Hazel joined our nursing team in Burns Lodge our Memory Lane Community in January 2023.

Hazel has been in the care sector for 40 years. And a Mental Health Nurse for the last 15 years. Hazel says she loves working with people with dementia and other mental health illnesses. Hazel said she Is passionate about dementia and feels that delivering great dementia care is rewarding.

Cheryl Beeton

Cheryl Beeton

Administrator

I am the administrator here at Lochduhar. I deal with all aspects of the administration in the home to ensure it runs smoothly, from invoicing, ordering, recruitment, setting up contracts, to manning reception; there's never a dull day! I consider myself to be extremely privileged to work with such wonderful people, full of humour with wonderful stories to tell. I know it’s a cliché, but we are like one big happy family. I love being here!

Sally Gilder

Head of Activities

Sally has been in the care sector since 1998. Sally joined  the Lochduhar team in 2018 as a care assistant.

Sally is very passionate about the care she provides and the welfare of the residents. Working as a care assistant Sally was able to get to know the residents wants and needs to provide excellent person centred care to each individual. Then in 2020 Sally found the opportunity to become Head of Activities. Sally feels that she provides a different side to herself to promote an active and inclusive lifestyle through her role as Head of Activities.

Evelyn Paterson

Head Chef

Evelyn has worked at Lochduhar since 2007, originally as an Assistant Cook before being promoted to Head Chef in 2011. Prior to working at Lochduhar, she worked for the NHS catering department.

Cameron McDougal

Head of Maintenance

Hi, my name is Cameron and I am the Head of Maintenance here at Lochduhar.  I started working at Lochduhar as the maintenance assistant before accepting this role.

I enjoy being able to use my practical skills and knowledge to maintain the home to the highest standard so that our residents may be comfortable and safe in their environment.

No two working days are the same which makes my role interesting and varied. I also enjoy the interaction with the residents who all have their own individual stories to tell. I feel a valued member of the wider care home team by my colleagues too.

Sharon Carruthers

Head of Housekeeping

Sharon joined Lochduhar February 2023. Sharon has worked in the care sector for 10 years.

Sharon likes spending time with the residents to ensure that their rooms are clean and tidy.

As well as keeping a high standard throughout the whole home.

Hollie Gilder

Admin Assistant

Hi, my name is Hollie and I am the Admin Assistant here at Lochduhar, I joined the team in July 2022. I have previously worked in the care sector and within the admin team of a busy dental practice.

Although I have only worked at Lochduhar a short time, I feel like the home has a great family atmosphere and I have been made to feel very welcome, by everyone. It is great to see a fantastic team deliver the best care to our residents and I am proud to now be part of it too.

Kayleigh Duncan

Care Practitioner

Kayleigh is our care practitioner who works in Memory Lane Community, Burns Lodge.

Kayleigh has worked at Lochduhar for 10 Years, originally as a Carer, she was promoted to Senior Carer and then undertook the Barchester Care Practitioner training programme.

Kayleigh says, she enjoys connecting with residents and their families and finding ways to make everyone feel happy and fulfilled at Lochduhar. She enjoys creating a care plan for each individual using a person centred approach.

Bryan Boyd

Senior Carer

Bryan is our Senior Carer in Burns Lodge, our Memory Lane community.

Bryan has been working at Lochduhar for 11 years. He joined Lochduhar as a carer and was given the opportunity to complete his SVQ level 2 and 3. Bryan has now worked as a senior carer since 2020.

Bryan says he enjoys all aspects of his job. And  loves being able to make a difference, making residents smile and he said he enjoys the fact that no two days ate the same.

Wendy Taylor

Senior Carer

Wendy joined Lochduhar in December 2020.

Wendy currently works on our residential unit on the ground floor. Wendy says she enjoys making a personal connection with our residents and their families. She says it’s really satisfying to see lovely smiles on their faces when we can make our conversations personal and their care with us person centred and have fun along the way.

Keith McConnell

Senior Carer

Keith is a Senior Carer on our residential Unit on the Ground Floor. He joined Lochduhar in 2019.

Keith says he enjoys meeting our residents families and working together to ensure that the residents are well cared for. He says it’s important to me to ensure that all residents needs are met to the highest standard.

Margaret Murdoch

Activities Coordinator

We all know that keeping active is important. We have created a wonderful culture within the home and we work together to give residents the best possible experience. We are here to ensure that residents enjoy an environment that is both stimulating and socially active. We ensure the team knows each residents' preferences, so that we can deliver a person-centered program of events and activities.

Essential to our homely feel is the strong relationships of trust we build with residents and their families and friends. The home also has its very own minibus for our numerous outings for coffee and shopping, which residents love and we are passionate about ensuring our Residents are linked to the community and we continue to develop these relationships.