Edinburgh care home announces two major appointments as it looks to expand services in 2022

A RAPIDLY expanding Edinburgh care home has announced two significant appointments as it prepares to expand its residential capacity.

Cramond Residence has promoted Ross Bijak to General Manager at Cramond Residence, while Daniela Zampieri has made the move up from Deputy Clinical Care Manager to take over as Deputy Manager.

The pair will play an integral role in the home’s expansion as it looks to increase staff numbers to more than 100 in preparation for opening accommodation on the home’s top floor for the first time since opening its doors in 2018, and to increase its specialist care offering for residents with dementia.

Ross joined the home in 2018 as a Registered Nurse before being promoted to Charge nurse in April 2019 and then Clinical care manager in December 2020. With more than 16 years’ experience in the care sector, he is particularly well versed in tailored dementia care and undertook a Masters in Dementia Studies in 2020 to further his knowledge.

Ross plans to improve the home’s specialist dementia offering in the coming months by increasing staff dementia training and introducing a range of sensory therapies to support residents with the condition.

More than 93% of staff at Cramond Residence have completed basic dementia training – facilitated by Ross, helping them to optimise interactions with and support residents with dementia.

Speaking about his new role, Ross said: “For me, working in care has always been about the residents, and managerial aspirations have been secondary.

“With that being said, I’m delighted to have made the move from Clinical Care Manager to General Manager as it gives me more say in the day-to-day running of the home.

“My progression over the last four years has been rapid and I’m very grateful for the developmental support I have received so far and the confidence that everyone has shown in me.

“I am looking forward to grasping my new responsibilities with both hands to continue driving the culture of person-centred, high-standard care on offer at Cramond Residence and I am keen to work with the team in making positive changes that will benefit our staff and residents.

“As we add more staff to the team, the key thing for me will be making sure any new hires are up to speed on our dementia training programme and I’m also looking to introduce more support for residents and families of residents living with dementia.”

With more than 24 years of experience in the care sector, Daniela joined the home as Deputy Manager in early 2022 helping support all aspects of clinical care.

Daniela said: “I had been working as a Deputy Clinical Care Manager in the care home sector since 2020, so the move into my new role was a natural progression.”

“Cramond Residence appealed to me initially as an excellent place to progress my career as we really promote resident-focused care and have a dedicated programme of high quality training.

“The team has been expanding recently with a number of new appointments, and we’re in a really strong position. We’ve just taken on an additional Charge Nurse who will enable us to open the top floor of the building and open more spaces for clients while retaining our excellent standard of care.

“Often with other companies in the care sector, they can be quite fixed in their ways. The great thing about Cramond Residence is that we are a lot more agile and open to change and improvement.

“You are really supported from the top down and are able to try different ways of doing things to improve resident experience and make things more efficient.”

Despite the challenges the care home sector has faced in the last two years throughout the Covid pandemic, Cramond Residence is optimistic for the year ahead with occupancy rates up 65% on this point last year.

Managing Director at Cramond Residence, Graeme Kelly, said: “The recent appointments of Ross and Daniela come at an exciting time for Cramond Residence as we look to open our top floor and recruit further staff to meet increasing demand.

“Following a challenging two years for the care sector, it is great to see more clients and their families putting their faith in us and the exceptional standard of care we deliver.

“Ross has been an integral part of the home since joining us as a Registered Nurse in 2018. Since then, he has continually shown his commitment to providing the best service possible for our clients, particularly those with dementia.

“We are delighted to have Daniela on board too, she brings with her a wealth of experience in clinical care and is already excelling in her new role. “As we look to recruit more like-minded and dedicated staff over the next 12 months, we’re hopeful that we can cut through the current workforce crisis by offering some of the highest salaries in Edinburgh’s care home sector, competitive terms and conditions and a great team environment.”

Cramond is seeking applications from Registered Nurses, care assistants and catering assistants.

Included in the home’s current offering for residents is a tailored monthly activity programme, curated by its dedicated lifestyle team, bespoke physiotherapy sessions by boutique physiotherapy experts, Balanced as well as specialist dementia care.

Located in Cramond, to the north of the city, the care home was launched in 2018 to offer uncompromising nurse-led care, as well as respite and dementia specialist services, and provides small group living for up to 74 residents in nine luxuriously-appointed homes.

Throughout the pandemic it has been able to use its purpose-built layout and cutting-edge air filtration system and laundry facilities to minimise cross-infection.

During the various lockdowns, the home offered a range of virtual activities, including linking up with the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions to deliver a programme of interactive tours of some of Scottish most famous attractions, to keep residents stimulated and engaged.