There was a real buzz and a real willingness to help, says PPP chief as she prepares to step down
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Pulteneytown People’s Project (PPP) began life in 2003 with one-and-a-half staff based in an adapted council house. Eighteen years on, PPP has a workforce of more than 50 and operates a multi-generational range of services from the £3.8 million Pulteney Centre.
Throughout that time Katrina MacNab has been the driving force behind the organisation, channelling her energy and enthusiasm into making it successful and sustainable while staying true to its original aims: creating opportunities, raising aspirations and making a positive difference in the community.
Now, as she prepares to step down as chief executive officer, Katrina (50) has highlighted some of PPP's achievements – and praised the staff and volunteers who have rallied round to support the community through Covid-19 as part of the Caithness resilience effort.
In normal times the Pulteney Centre offers a learning centre, childcare provision, nursery places, a men's shed and group sessions ranging from acupuncture to cooking as well as office space that is rented out. The pandemic brought most activities to a halt – but HomeLink, the housing support service, and the Care at Home team, supporting elderly or vulnerable people in their own homes, were delivered throughout.
HomeLink covers 50 clients a week across the county, while Care at Home is provided in the Wick area to more than 50 people.
"The staff were a bit anxious, which everybody was at the start," Katrina said. "We were doing loads of risk assessments, daily meetings with the NHS and were getting feedback from the Scottish Government on what we were to do and what we weren't allowed to do and how things were going to run. Every week we'd try to get enough PPE [personal protective equipment] that would do until the following week and then have the same fight again. But we managed, and got into a routine and started getting PPE quite regularly.
“We had to put new procedures in place, certainly for Care at Home. We have a lot of elderly people so we had to make sure they were aware that staff were going to come in with full PPE. We were phoning them beforehand to make sure that they felt okay before we came in, and informing families how things were going to run and how it was going to work.”
At the same time, HomeLink clients were categorised as red, amber and green depending on their circumstances.
Katrina added: “We've been really fortunate – we've not had anybody off at all that's had to isolate or for Covid. We've managed with full staffing capacity.”
Telford's café within the centre had been shut down but the facilities were put to good use preparing meals for those who were shielding at home. Volunteers came forward to assist in delivering lunches as well as helping with a variety of other tasks, including dog-walking, picking up prescriptions and shopping for essential items.
“Very quickly the community groups throughout Caithness linked together and we were having weekly meetings from the very start to discuss how we were going to serve the community right across Caithness," Katrina explained.
“We trained up volunteers so they knew what was expected of them when they went out. Thurso Community Development Trust had done quite a bit of paperwork on volunteering, so we borrowed that and we used it for our volunteers.
"We made sure we were covering everything that needed to be covered. Telford's had been shut and the staff had been furloughed but in mid-April we asked them to come back and work and we delivered meals then throughout the whole of Covid time.
“We had a fantastic response in terms of getting volunteers.”
Systems were put in place to get money from the bank for those unable to go out.
With support from other organisations, activity boxes were supplied for children and adults to keep them occupied while at home.
“We asked everybody what they would like in their boxes and we tried to do it accordingly – plants that they could grow, a scrapbook to keep some ideas from things that they'd dealt with during Covid," Katrina said. "We were putting quizzes out as well with all the meals, and we were getting the quizzes coming back when they'd finished them.
“We had lots of lovely letters from people who were letting us know what they were doing with their boxes and how appreciative they were.
“The volunteers were fantastic. Sometimes that was the only person they got to speak to that whole day. We had volunteers at the very start who then landed up having to go back to their work and stop volunteering, but there was always a new batch of people that would come on board.
“There was a real buzz and a real willingness to help.”
Katrina added: “Every time the legislation changed or the guidance changed we'd have to look again at everything we were doing and how we were going to deliver the services."
Mother-and-toddler and playgroup sessions started up in the autumn but had to stop again by December amid concern about rising cases of the virus in Scotland. “Now we're into January unsure what's going to happen but we'll just have to take it as it comes,” she said.
It was always the case that we would employ people with the skills that we were looking for and a commitment to the community.
PPP was created after a public meeting held in Wick South Primary School in October 2002. Katrina recalls how she and Yvonne Hendry began work in February 2003 from a council house in Murchison Street with funding for 1.5 staff for three years.
“We didn't really know what we were going to be doing," Katrina said. "We just had enthusiasm and knew that we wanted to make a difference in our community and start delivering some services that were run within Caithness.
“We were also very keen that as part of regeneration we wanted to give people opportunities to get careers, and it has always been a thing to make sure that we are offering SVQs [Scottish Vocational Qualifications] and training opportunities for staff that we've brought in.
“It was always the case that we would employ people with the skills that we were looking for and a love for the area and a commitment to the community.
“It was about regenerating the area but also giving the people that lived in the area an opportunity, and that has been a great investment. All our staff live and work in the community.
“We've given lots of people opportunities to gain their qualifications, move on and do better for themselves, using here as a stepping stone – or people have just stayed here and been promoted within the organisation as we've grown bigger. So that has been a real success for the area."
The Pulteney Centre, next to the distillery in Huddart Street, has been the multipurpose focal point of PPP since opening in 2012.
“We've got an amazing building. It was £3.8 million and we'll have that for a long time to come," Katrina said.
“From the day that we started, unlike any other community project in the Highlands, we have never had grant funding to run our building – we run it entirely ourselves from the profit that we make from the services that we run.”
She lists the main achievements during her tenure as “getting the building, watching staff progress, build their confidence and do better for themselves, and seeing the difference that we've made to people's lives”.
Katrina is preparing to leave her post around the last week of January after handing over to Jane Davidson, a former chief executive of NHS Borders, who is due to start on January 11.
"I've loved every minute that I've been here but it has been a long, hard slog," Katrina said. "I've worked 50-plus hours every week. I've really enjoyed it and I've enjoyed what we've achieved from it.
“I just want now to have some time off and then maybe look at doing something that's just part-time. It's time to step aside and let somebody else take over.
“We've got 50-plus staff, a very stable workforce, and a really good foundation for someone new to come in with new enthusiasm and take it forward to the next stage.”
