Here at McFarlane Trust we strive to promote the rights of the people we support. We believe that those who use our services have the right to have control over their own life and have their voice heard about the choices and decisions that affect them.
We ensure that each person has a flexible, personalised and reactive service which meets their unique needs. We offer a range of support from 24/7 and overnight support to outreach support. When designing our support, we keep the wishes and needs of the individual at the heart of everything we do.
Our skilled teams of staff create environments where the people we support can continue to grow and develop skills which will enrich their lives. Our teams work diligently to develop trusting relationships with individuals to enable a partnership approach to service provision. Using an outcome focused model of support, we work together to identify how you want to live your life.
All of our services provide care at home and housing support to adults with a learning disability, some of whom have associate physical disabilities and additional health needs. We continually review and evaluate our services to ensure that we are offering the best standard of care and support.
The board of trustees in our organisation come from various professional backgrounds and bring a range of skills and experiences to McFarlane Trust. They offer leadership and guidance to the organisation and ensure that the welfare and well-being of the people we support is at the centre of everything we do.
Doug Haggart – Chair
Doug brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in health and social care to the role of Chair. He has previously held positions as a Justice of the Peace in Leicestershire, Social Services Contracts Manager in Solihull and Older Adults Care Home Contract Coordinator at COSLA. Prior to retiring, Doug was the Adult Commissioning Co-ordinator with Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership. This is where his relationship with McFarlane Trust began. He was asked to join the Board of Trustees in 2015 and was voted in as Chair in May 2021.
Janice Robson
Janice is our longest serving Trustee having been a member of the Board since 1998. Janice has supported McFarlane Trust to evolve and grow over the years. As an accountant and business professional, Janice brings valuable experience in all matters of financial management and accountancy to the organisation.
Anne Shanks
Anne has been a friend and supporter of McFarlane Trust for many years. Anne is a retired mathematics teacher and having a brother with a learning disability, Anne has always been interested in representing the needs of adults with learning disabilities. She is an experienced Board member having served as Trustee with other organisations. Anne’s brother is supported by McFarlane Trust and has been for over 20 years.
Alan Paterson
Alan has a BSC in Nursing and a Diploma in Community Psychiatric Nursing. He began life with McFarlane Trust in August 1995, just prior to the opening of our first service, Netherlee House in East Renfrewshire. He was joined a few weeks later by Lesley Watt and together they opened Netherlee House. Alan remained as Manager for five years before being promoted to Director of Operations and Development where he was instrumental in overseeing the growth of the organisation. He retired from his post as Managing Director in 2019. After a couple of years relaxing in retirement, Alan was invited to join the Board of Trustees in 2021 and is once again enjoying working with McFarlane Trust.
Mary McLean
Mary worked in Social Work for 42 years before retiring. She became interested in working with people with disabilities when she worked in the Contracts Team where they monitored and reviewed care services in Renfrewshire. She then transferred to the Health and Social Care Partnership in the Learning Disabilities team. There she was responsible for managing a team of staff, ensuring their service users received the best quality and appropriate support. She got to know services and the service users and ensured that they received the best possible support.
Lesley Watt – Director of Service
Lesley has been working in the learning disability field for 37 years. She trained as a Registered Nurse in Learning Disabilities and spent 11 years working in a hospital setting before moving to McFarlane Trust when it opened its first service in 1995.
She found herself in the privileged position of being involved in the inception of a brand new organisation and was able to positively influence the culture and ethos of McFarlane Trust.
Lesley said “I have spent the majority of my career with McFarlane Trust because I truly believe in the work that we do. I am fortunate to have a job where I work with a great team of people and I can contribute to helping people improve their lives.”
Derek Moffat – Director of Finance
Derek is a professionally qualified Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA) with 22 years’ experience working in Chartered Accountancy firms.
He joined McFarlane Trust as the Finance Director in April 2019 and has overall responsibility for the finance function, as well as assisting with the safeguarding of finances for the people we support.
Derek said “I have been learning all about McFarlane Trust and the environment they operate in, adapting my accountancy skills and experience to suit that of a social care not for profit organisation. I have enjoyed meeting the people we support, and seeing how well they are supported by our dedicated staff team. I am very proud to be a part of such a friendly and caring organisation.”
In 1988 a group of parents whose children attended a local school for children with additional support needs, asked the then Head Teacher Doreen McFarlane MBE if she would be willing to be involved in the creation of a new charity, which would offer new ways for people with learning disabilities to have access to individualised support and accommodation in the local community.
One of the parents, Brendan Somers, a Senior Banking Manager with the Allied Irish Bank in Glasgow, retired from this post and with his skills, knowledge and enthusiasm for the cause, the group established ‘McFarlane Homes’ and in 1995, Netherlee House Care Home was opened.
Since then the organisation, now named McFarlane Trust, has continued in its commitment to developing personalised accommodation, and support services for people, and to remain relevant and responsive to individual needs.
We aim to:
- Work in partnership with the individual to develop a personalised service unique to them.
- Support choice and control for the people we support, so they are safe and well.
- Provide high-quality supported living services and accommodation.
- Promote and encourage each person to be as independent as possible.
- Ensure that each person is at the centre of any decision making which affects their life.
- Ensure that each person is afforded the same rights and responsibilities as any other citizen and are treated with dignity, respect and compassion.
- Build partnerships and work collaboratively in the best interests of the people we support.
- Support families in their caring role.
- Build a workforce which is skilled, motivated, and committed to social care values.
- Promote and maintain high standards of directorship and organisational governance.