CARE AT HOME & HOUSING SUPPORT 2025 SPEAKERS
› Scottish Care Events
“Compassion in Crisis”
Catherine McWilliam
Nations Director: Scotland
Institute of Directors (IoD)
Catherine McWilliam is Nations Director for the IoD in Scotland. Joining the IoD Scotland team in 2021, Catherine has extensive experience in stakeholder engagement and relationship building across the third, private and public sector and is passionate about promoting good governance and diverse leadership. Catherine has recently been recognised as one of Management Today’s 35 Women Under 35 for 2024, and is co-chair of the Edinburgh Regional board of the Lifted Project. She was awarded an Honorary Fellowship from Dumfries and Galloway College in December 2023 and is a member of the Scottish Government’s National Suicide Prevention Advisory Group.
Dr Donald Macaskill
CEO
Scottish Care
Dr Donald Macaskill has worked for many years in the health & social care sectors across the UK, specialising in learning disability and older people’s work. A particular professional focus has been bereavement, palliative care and individual rights. For 13 years he ran his own equality and human rights consultancy focusing on adult protection, risk and personalisation. He managed Scottish Care’s SDS project, People as Partners, then was the Joint National Workforce Lead. From 2016 he has been the CEO of Scottish Care.
Speaker information to follow.
Dr David Marshall
Senior Improvement Adviser for Pharmacy
Care Inspectorate
Dr. David Marshall is the Senior Improvement Adviser for Pharmacy at the Care Inspectorate. He has a strong academic foundation with a First Class Honours B.Sc. in Pharmacy (1986) and a PhD in Physiology and Pharmacology (1991), both from Strathclyde University.
Since 2003, Dr. Marshall has applied his expertise within the Care Commission, now the Care Inspectorate, progressing from Pharmacy Adviser to his current senior role. He further enhanced his skills by obtaining the NES Scottish Improvement Leader (QI) qualification (2018-2021), for which he also served as a mentor and visiting faculty.
David is passionate about collaborative working to improve the health and wellbeing outcomes for individuals receiving care and their families. He strongly believes that the safe and appropriate use of medicines plays a crucial role in enhancing the welfare of people using social care services.
Lynn Flannigan
Quality Improvement Manager, Health and Social Care Improvement Team
Care Inspectorate
Lynn Flannigan is the Quality Improvement Manager of the Health and Social Care Improvement Team in the Care Inspectorate.
She is a registered physiotherapist by background with over 33 years of experience, working in a variety of care settings. She has worked in quality improvement for around eight years.
The Health & Social Care Improvement Team that Lynn leads has quality improvement and health expertise, coming from a range of clinical backgrounds such as nursing, AHP and pharmacy. They work strategically and operationally, with a range of stakeholders and frontline care staff. They do this so that people who experience care achieve improved health and wellbeing outcomes that matter to them.
Maureen Cossar
Senior Improvement Adviser (focus on dementia), Health and Social Care Improvement Team
Care Inspectorate
Maureen Cossar is a Senior Improvement Adviser at the Care Inspectorate, focusing on dementia within the Health and Social Care Improvement Team. With more than 20 years as a Registered Mental Health Nurse, primarily supporting older adults with dementia, Maureen combines extensive clinical experience with strategic insight gained from an MSc in Dementia Studies.
 John McVeigh
SVQ Coordinator & Lecturer
City of Glasgow College
My name is John McVeigh and I am currently the SVQ Coordinator for City of Glasgow College. I am a seasoned professional with over 20 years’ experience working within the sphere of Social Care. This has been across many different positions, from Support Assistant to Manager and now as an SVQ Coordinator and Lecturer. I am dedicated to the education and training of the Social Care workforce and advocate of SVQ’s and work-based qualifications. My current role is to manage a large team within the College, to deliver a range of SVQ Qualifications to the diverse group of staff that make up the Social Care workforce within Scotland. I currently hold a MSc in Leading People Centred Integrated Care, as well as all multiple SVQ’s and work based qualifications within Social Care and Education.
Louise Sinclair
Senior Business Development Manager
British Red Cross
As an experienced Senior Business Development Manager, Louise specialises in raising awareness and driving growth of the British Red Cross’ health and care services across Scotland. With a strong commercial and operational background across various industries, Louise focuses on building key partnerships and developing innovative models to meet evolving sector needs.
Louise is committed to working with health boards, local authorities and third sector organisations to improve community wellbeing and reduce pressures on health and care systems.
Nick Hall
Health and Care Operations Manager for the East of Scotland
British Red Cross
Nick joined the British Red Cross as Health and Care Operations Manager for the East of Scotland in July 2024. His role involves overseeing the health and care services offered across the East of Scotland, from the Borders to Dundee which includes our D2A service.
Nick manages the day-to-day operations of a range of services which include Social Prescribing and Community-Led Support models, Assisted Discharge and Home to Assess as well as being part of the British Red Cross Senior Leadership Team working closely with colleagues to drive improvement of our services and increase the impact of the offering of the British Red Cross.
Nick has a background in Learning and Development and Management for Mental Health and Homelessness charities where he has managed services for those with severe, debilitating mental health conditions, accommodation services for young homeless adults and employability programs for vulnerable adults.
Nicola Cooper
Technology and Digital Innovation Lead
Scottish Care
Nicola Cooper has worked in Social Care innovation for over 10 years and has specialist knowledge of technology design and implementation in aged care and dementia. She sees technology as a way to make life easier for humans when designed ethically and inclusively, and as an efficiency multiplier for sustainability in relational care.
She is passionate about creating, making and mending systems, services and products that work well for the most vulnerable and invisible in society.
Currently she is leading on the implementation and spread of the Care Technologist role in social care. In previous work she has led on the development of self-management applications for long term conditions which are now widely used and adopted in Scotland.
Cheryl Stevenson
Care Technologist
Scottish Care
Cheryl started her Social Care career as a Care Assistant in a Care Home in 1997. In 2001 she qualified as a Nurse and initially worked in a teaching hospital, then a Care Home in Wales, before relocating back to Ayrshire as a Day Sister in a local Care Home. Following a short career break to start a family, she re-joined social care and gained further qualifications to work in Homecare. Cheryl is passionate about the role of technology in proving person-led care and support. She is keen to myth bust the idea that technology isn’t for older people – it is.
Lynsey Allan
Independent Sector Lead, South Lanarkshire
Scottish Care
Jacqueline Kelland
Medicines Management/Care at Home Pharmacist
NHS Lanarkshire
Speaker information to follow.
Catriona Smith
Independent Financial Advisor
Society of Later Life Advisors
Balancing life as an Independent Financial Adviser with Chase de Vere Independent Financial Advisers and a mum, Catriona is a beacon of perseverance and hard work. Catriona has clinched the ‘Financial Adviser of the Year’ award twice as well as recently winning Women of the Year Vulnerable Client Care. She also shines in SOLLA (Society of Later Life Advisers)*, being appointed to the SOLLA Advisory Board in July 2023. She regularly presents at seminars and webinars on Long Term Care and helping families make informed Care Funding Decisions, as well as running training sessions for her fellow Chase de Vere advisers. Among Scotland’s select female independent financial advisers, she’s also the driving force behind Ayr Boswells U13’s football, donning the hats of a Coach and Treasurer. She has also passed the SMHFA, Scotland’s Mental Health First Aid Course and is a member of Dementia Friends Scotland.
Information about SOLLA:- Society of Later Life Advisers – SOLLA-https://societyoflaterlifeadvisers.co.uk/
SOLLA helps people and their families in finding trusted accredited financial advisers who understand financial needs in later life. A well-qualified financial adviser who is also somebody who understands the plans you need to make for your retirement years. The complexities of the many decisions you or your family may need to face when looking at issues such as care funding matters or whether equity release is the right thing for you, need careful and considered advice. Financial advice should help you make clear and informed decisions knowing that you have had the information and choices presented to you in a way that helps you make the best choices and decisions for you or for a family member.
All SOLLA later life advisers specialise in the financial needs of older people. Professional qualifications, whilst essential, do not always give a full picture of an adviser’s experience or expertise. Those advisers who have taken the further step to become independently accredited can offer the added reassurance that they can give the practical help and guidance needed to help you make the right decisions at the right time. Why would anyone choose a financial adviser offering anything less?
Karen Hedge
Deputy CEO
Scottish Care
Karen’s career in social care began as a paid carer and whilst rewarding, she quickly became motivated by the pressures of the sector. A champion for participation and co-production, she believes in evidencing impact through outcomes. Integration is a theme of her career and in her current role, she continues to shape the future of social care. Her portfolio includes reform, commissioning and procurement and nursing in care. She particularly values the Scottish Care Awards where she learns of the successes of the sector and from those who effect change.
