Catriona Jamieson Projects Lead PAMIS (Promoting a More Inclusive Society) Catriona got into nursing later in life, overcoming challenges with education to make a difference for others. “I was previously a family carer but always really interested in becoming a learning disability nurse. Working alongside people with learning disabilities, I could see the incredible difference…
Learning Disability Nurse
Karen Laing
Karen Laing Community Learning Disability Nurse NHS Tayside Both of Karen’s parents are learning disabilities nurses, and she likes to say that she grew up in the business. “When I was younger, I spent most of my time in Starthmartine Hospital where my parents worked. There were always discos, pantomimes, and summer fetes. I grew…
Heather Duff
Heather Duff Community Learning Disability Nurse NHS Lothian Heather left school and worked in a GP practice as a shorthand typist where she watched the work of an admirable district nurse. It planted the seed of an idea that nursing might be the future career for her. “I wanted to be a learning disability nurse.…
Carole Morrow
Carole Morrow Community Learning Disability Nurse NHS Lanarkshire It is almost 20 years since Carole first qualified as a learning disability nurse and she has been working in the community within adult services across north and south Lanarkshire since 2008. “You get a feel for how people are living, you get to know the person,…
Kerry Anderson
Kerry Anderson Nurse Consultant Learning Disabilities NHS Grampian Kerry always knew she wanted a career in a caring profession, but it was by chance that she discovered the inspiration for her future. “I’m sure everyone says this, but even at a young age I knew I wanted to make a difference. I had placements at…
Craig Bell
Craig Bell Community Learning Disability Charge Nurse NHS Forth Valley Craig first heard about the Queen’s Nurse programme through his manager a few years earlier, but it was the shared development project of the learning disability cohort that encouraged him to apply. “Our group project is about forensic need, a topic that’s relevant to what…
Rachel Gardiner
Rachel Gardiner Forensic Community Learning Disability Charge Nurse NHS Borders When Rachel left school, she studied Applied Social Science at university and following a summer working in supported accommodation she started to rethink her future. “The government were in the process of closing learning disability hospitals and investing more heavily in supported accommodation for the…
Zoe Lightbody
Zoe Lightbody Community Learning Disability Charge Nurse NHS Ayrshire & Arran Zoe describes herself as lucky to have spent many of her student placements working in the community and just one year after graduating in 2016, she found herself in The Community Learning Disability Team in South Ayrshire before securing a permanent Charge Nurse post…
Kelly Frame
Kelly Frame Community Learning Disability Nurse NHS Lanarkshire I like that working in the community you get to support people throughout their journey. In a hospital setting, you might only see and treat the immediate health concern but in community nursing, you are involved in the ongoing journey with a person. Seeing someone in their…
Fiona Mason
Fiona Mason Learning Disability Nurse Scottish Borders I am a senior charge nurse within the Scottish Borders Learning Disability Service – a multidisciplinary team working across health and social care, made up of around 80 or 90 people working together in the community. My base is in Earlston in Berwickshire and the service covers a large, mainly rural, geographical area with the…
