Queen’s Nurse Appointed Manager at Aberdeenshire Care Home

Scottish care provider Meallmore has appointed Nicola Reid to the role of care home manager of Crimond House Care Home in Aberdeenshire.

This role sees a return to Meallmore for Nicola, who spent 18 years working at sister care home, Kynnaird House in Fraserburgh.

Nicola joined Kynnaird House as a nurse in 2004 after completing her qualification in Nursing – Children and Young People at Robert Gordon University. Initially seeking roles in children’s nursing, she fell in love with working in elderly care at Kynnaird and has never looked back. She stayed at Kynnaird House until 2021, working up to clinical lead.

More recently, Nicola has been working as senior care home support nurse for the Care Home Support Team in Aberdeenshire for the last three and a half years. Here she provided focused training support to teams where needed, developing expertise in service improvement and a wider understanding of Care Inspectorate requirements.

After just six months in this role, Nicola was nominated to join the prestigious Queen’s Nurse Development Programme. This nine-month programme delivered by the Queen’s Nursing Institute Scotland (QNIS) is offered annually to around 20 nurses and midwives working in community roles in Scotland.

Dedicated to continuous learning and development, Nicola is currently in the final stages of a top up degree at Robert Gordon University, which is due for completion in May.

Nicola said: “The work I did with the Queen’s Nurse Development Programme had a profound impact on me. It really cemented that care homes are where my heart is and encouraged me to progress with my career. When this leadership position became available back at Meallmore in my local area it was just the perfect opportunity that I couldn’t let pass me by. It’s especially timely as I complete my degree, which is focused on leadership and quality development.

“It’s so lovely to be back in the Meallmore family! I enjoyed my time as care home support, but I missed regular close resident interaction and being part of a bigger team, and I was ready for my next challenge. Meallmore’s values really align with what I feel is important, and this is one of the key reasons why I came back. Everyone has been so supportive. During the Queen’s Nurse Development Programme, we did a lot of work on people-centred care and staff training, and I’m really excited to put this into practice and see the positive impact on both residents and colleagues at Crimond.”