I have never been one for blogging or being photographed, I never enjoy being centre of attention for that matter! However in the interest of challenging myself and trying to improve, I fancy having a go at it, particularly given the excellent blog debut my colleague and fellow project officer Gemma Stewart recently produced.

I have been part of the Living Well in Communities (LWiC) team for over a year now. My current role is to provide project support to the palliative and end of life care workstream, which aims to support health and social care partnerships across Scotland to test improvements in the identification of people who could benefit from a palliative approach to their care, and care coordination.

I find this a hugely interesting and engaging workstream to work on. It’s an emotive subject, which is really helping me challenge and think through my ideas and perception of what palliative care is, and can be. To date my biggest learning point has been around the necessity of good conversations. Whether that is with a professional or a loved one.

Like Gemma I have a varied background, having studied social science at an undergraduate level, then criminology and criminal justice at a master’s level. My studies led me to a role in the third sector with Victim Support Scotland, in which I was part of the day-to-day running of the Edinburgh service. I then took up a role with Healthcare Improvement Scotland, working for a number of teams, including networks and knowledge exchange, and my current role with LWiC.

The LWiC team are a hard-working bunch, with a real commitment to providing a high quality of work that supports people to live at home or in a homely setting. We are always happy to answer any questions about our work – so please do get in touch.