Assistant Manager:  Mary Wilkie

Who are you?

My name is Mary Wilkie; I am the Assistant Unit Manager at Milnab Street in Crieff. My role is divided between my duties as a support work and some managerial responsibilities which involve assisting the Unit Manager with the day to day running of the unit. I draw up rotas, supervise staff, ensure staff are offered the necessary training, oversee the Cooksafe system and do the Legionelle testing and recording. Together with these responsibilities, I deputize in the Manager’s absence and have specific duties involving service users- such as, the overseeing of files.

We support 11 service users with a Learning Disability/Autism: four people in a shared supported living situation; three individuals in a small group home; and four gentlemen on an outreach basis. We have a permanent staff team of 18.

How long have you been part of the Gowrie Care team?

I started to work with Gowrie Care in June 1992 as a relief Support Worker whilst I was at College. I applied and was successful at gaining a permanent post in September 1993; I then increased my hours to full time in 2000. In December 2006 I was appointed Acting Assistant Manager and this was made permanent in 2007.

What excites you about your job?

Every shift is different at Milnab Street. The service users within the three services have varying needs and we have to adapt our approach accordingly. However ultimately we are working towards the same goal- for individuals to be as independent as they possibly can be.

Rewarding aspects of working for Gowrie Care

The most rewarding aspect of my role is that you are fortunate to be closely involved in an individual’s life and can proactive in a person developing their autonomy and encouraging them to build on experiences so that the individual can make informed choices in their life.

Are you involved in any specific initiatives or groups?

I support service users to attend National Involvement Network (NIN) meetings which are held every two months in various locations. The NIN is supported by the Association for Real Change. The NIN group published a Charter for Involvement in April 2009 and Gowrie Care signed up to the charter at its launch. The NIN group worked for two years developing the charter; which addresses the issues surrounding the services that individuals receive and the organisations that provide the service. The aim of the charter is to set out how people want to be involved in all aspects of their lives- the wider community, the running of their own service and having their views heard by the Scottish Parliament. The group has the backing of Jackie Baillie MSP, and are now looking at service users providing training to organisations in order to develop and implement the use of the charter within the organisations that have signed up to it.