About us

Enhancing lives in the community

The Deirdre Knight Centre Committee aims to improve the quality of life of those members who attend. We aim also, to improve the quality of life for those who care for them.

We achieve this with a suitably qualified staff team who have on-going training, appraisal and supervision within their individual roles.

The Centre is a registered charity (SC014170), run on a not for profit basis – you can find more details here:

OSCR – Charity details

Choice, independence & dignity

The Committee recognises the members’ needs for choice, independence, dignity, and recognition in a safe and secure environment where they are encouraged to express their views and exercise their rights as an equal. Our staff team meet these needs in supportive and friendly surroundings so far as they are able to. Every member will be appreciated as an individual with their privacy and confidentiality respected and maintained at all times.

It is our ultimate aim to provide a high standard quality service to people in the community which we are a part of. We continue to achieve this by promoting, encouraging and supporting close working relationships with our colleagues from the multi disciplinary team. We also provide information packages written in plain English delivering advice and information to prospective members and their representatives giving an overview of the day care experience.

Regularly inspected

We are registered with and regularly inspected by The Scottish Care Inspectorate. 

Our most recent evaluation gave us a top rating for all criteria.

View our Care Inspectorate record

Our Dedicated Core Team

Our staff

Staff at the Centre consists of a Manager (Kathleen Blythe) Deputy Manager (Lesley Cameron) and five Social Care Officers.

Kathleen has a SVQ level 4 in Health and Social Care, a registered managers award and is registered with the Scottish Social Service Council (SSSC). Our care officers have various qualifications from SVQ 2/3 in Health and Social Care.

Additional support is supplied via a part-time Bus Driver, Handyman, Kitchen Assistant and Cleaner.

All staff are part of the protecting vulnerable groups scheme (PVG), undergo regular & mandatory training which includes Best Practice in Dementia, Manual Handling, First Aid, Food Hygiene, Sensory Awareness & Supporting People With Meaningful Activities.

Volunteers

We have many roles within the centre for volunteers, including our Management Committee. 

Volunteers support and complement our staff bringing a wealth of knowledge and support to our members. We are extremely lucky to have volunteers from a range of age groups who can help us deliver a diverse and rewarding experience for our members.

The Management Committee

The Management Committee is representative of the community it services. It comprises a mixture of professional and business people, ordinary members of the community, retired and working people. Where areas are under-represented such as might occur where there are ethnic minority groups, attempts would be made to recruit committee members from these groups.

Members who attend the Centre are invited to send representatives to meetings. Members of staff also attend meetings but may be asked to leave when matters pertaining to staff, such as salary increases, are being discussed.

Annual General Meetings are open to the public.

The Centre Manager sees to the day to day running of the Centre and day to day finances with the Assistance of the Chairperson and accountants.

Other committee members provide assistance as required.