Meet the Team

Lesley has worked with the company since 2021 as manager of their flagship home in Edinburgh and has now transferred to join the team at Woodlands. As a qualified nurse,  Lesley’s main clinical background is the Intensive care unit at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and latterly as a Specialist Peritoneal Dialysis nurse. On a personal level, Lesley lived in Italy for 20 years and loves cooking Italian dishes, having now moved from Edinburgh, she looks forward to walking her two dogs and seeing more of Aberdeen.

Following to a recent and well-earned promotion from Unit Lead, we are delighted to have Wisdom Gavor as our new Deputy Manager. Wisdom began studying medicine but decided he preferred the hands on approach and changed to the nursing programme. Wisdom began his nursing career as a Theatre Nurse and then moved onto speacialise as an Accident & Emergency Nurse, supporting those at their most vulnerable. Wisdom believes knowledge is power and is looking forward to developing further training for all the Woodlands Team.  

Lorna has recently been promoted to Unit Lead and brings a wealth of nursing experience to the team. She has worked in care since leaving school and has spent all her nursing career supporting the older person. Lorna is an avid learner and is always studying and encouraging others and is a natural mentor for the younger members of the team.

Prashna is a hard-working, caring and dedicated member of our team and is one of our Unit Leads. We are very proud to announce Prashna has won the very prestigious company award of Nurse of the Year 2025 for Scotland. Warm and caring, Prashna will always go above and beyond for all and is a real asset to our team.

Regina studied and worked as a Registered Nurse in Nepal before moving to Scotland. Coming from a long line of nurses, who all specialised in care of the elderly, it was a natural progression for her to follow suit. To convert a nursing qualification is a difficult process, requiring a lot of studying and we are delighted Regina has just passed her Nursing and Midwifery exams in the UK. Regina always has a positive and smiley outlook and is always extremely kind and generous with those she supports.

Bala brings a wealth of knowledge to this role with many years of experience in both care and auditing.  As Pharmacy Manager, Bala has oversight of all aspects of medication management and works closely with the GP surgeries and hospital discharge teams. More recently, Bala has studied to become an in-house trainer for First Aid and Basic Life Support, where with his colleague Sarah, they welcome families to participate in any courses going on in the home.

We welcome Catriona Herron, who is our new Wellbeing Lead and who is passionate about travelling, cooking, reminiscing, and just making a difference each day.

Margaret joins the team as the Administrator and brings a wealth of experience having done similar roles in care homes for over 6 years.  We are delighted that Margaret has joined the team.

We are delighted to welcome Mark Gardiner as our new Executive Head Chef. With over 39 years of catering experience, Mark began his career at Craigendarroch and has since worked in numerous fine dining restaurants, 5-star hotels, and gastropubs. Throughout his distinguished career, he has had the honor of cooking for royalty. Mark is married, with three children and one great-granddaughter. He looks forward to getting to know the residents and creating memorable dining experiences for them.

Alison has been a Registered Foot Health Practitioner for the past 4 years and has 15 years experience as a Registered Nurse. Alison knows all the residents so well and reviews each resident on a 6 week rotation, supporting them with their footcare health. Footcare is an essential for Woodlands residents to ensure they remain as mobile as possible, which is vital for general health and wellbeing. Always smiling and with her positive approach, Alison has forged lovely working relationships with residents and their families.

Having over 10 years experience in caring for the elderly within the community, Jennifer joined Woodlands over a year ago as Senior Carer, providing valuable support to our nursing team. Person-centred and holistic care are her two main areas of focus and she passionately advocates that each resident should be supported as she would her own family.

Beth is a real people person she strives to offer excellent person centred care and will also go above and beyond for everyone.

Jeeja, joined the Woodlands team a year ago from Nepal, her attention to detail coupled with her enthusiasm for the care our residents is exceptional.

Amaka joined Woodlands as a care assistant and has passed with flying colours the SCQF7 qualification in Oral Care. Amaka will now be responsible for overseeing and training new recruits in the importance of oral health assessments and also in the auditing of services. Amaka is always smiling and positive, and whether walking to work or working at Woodlands, she is always singing, which brings so much happiness to the day.

Lakshmi has 2 years of care sector experience and always wants to go the extra mile for people. Lakshmi loves to look after people and make a difference.

When we asked what made her want to join the care team she said “I love to make people happy and spread joy wherever I can, it is important to me to offer great care!”

Sumaia loves to help people and has enjoyed getting to know our residents “I feel at my most happiest when I can help and look after others”.

Leigh’a has been working in fitness for over 11 years and is passionate about helping each of our residents reach their personal fitness goals. For respite residents who are convalescing, Leigh’a will work with the physio team to encourage residents to get back on their feet again and to return home.

Jessica’s love for people coupled with her generous nature makes her perfectly suited for this role. Be sure to say hello when you see her.

Catherine is a natural whirlwind, who never stops. Nothing is too much trouble and she is an excellent advocate for the residents of Woodlands. Everyone looks forward to “Cathy’s Bar” on a Friday, where residents and their loved ones come together to sing and dance over a glass of Prosecco.

The residents of Woodlands are delighted to welcome Gordon, who joins us as our gardener and driver. Gordon has an exciting plan to develop the garden with the residents getting fully involved from the planning stage onwards. We’ll be putting in raised flower beds, to ensure gardening is accessible to everyone who wants to join in, growing our own veg and herbs and planting seasonal bulbs, which we can watch grow and flower. Gordon, supported by the care team, will also be taking residents on outings, whether it be cinema, shopping, for coffee or just a leisurely drive. Gordon has also undertaken further training in dementia and sensory gardening

Paul has had a variety of jobs over the years but has come back to maintenance and can turn his hand to anything. Paul has also undergone further and specialised electrical training.

Steve has come to us with a wealth of experience in all aspects of maintenance and has worked in care homes since 2017. Steve also helps other homes in the region.

We would like to introduce Kristine our new Chef who comes to us with over 20 years of experience. Kristine has been welcomed with open arms to Woodlands and has enjoyed her first couple of weeks with the team.

John has been with Woodlands for 2 years as one of our kitchen porters he expressed a wish to train as a chef, and we are now assisting John through his Chefing training along with Hospitality Scotland

Corina is a dedicated member of our team who goes the extra mile to help whenever she can.

Susan loves getting to know our residents and will always be seen with a smile on her face.

Mandy has volunteered to help at Woodlands, Mandy helps in our café bar making sure everyone has a cuppa and a fine piece. Mandy also helps with some of our activities and the residents love her energy and enthusiasm!