Highland Council NHS Highland Senior Appointments

6th March 2012

Senior appointments Planning for Integration - The Highland Council and NHS Highland.

The Highland Council and NHS Highland are very pleased to announce some key senior appointments to support the move to integration of health and social services in April.

In addition to The Highland Council appointments of Bill Alexander to Director of Health and Social Care and Hugh Fraser, as Director of Education, Culture and Sport made earlier this month, interviews were held on Friday 2nd March, and the following appointments are confirmed:

NHS Highland:

Director of Operations North and West Highland (Remote and Rural). Operating Unit - Gill McVicar.
Director of Operations South and Mid Highland (Inner Moray Firth) Operating Unit - Nigel Small.
Head of Adult Social Care - Brian Robertson.

Elaine Mead, Chief Executive for NHS Highland said: "I am delighted that we have been able to appoint such experienced senior managers into these key posts. They will bring with them many years of local expertise and knowledge about the way services are delivered across Highland. Over and above this all of them have demonstrated significant commitment, leadership and enthusiasm to the integration of health and social care which will benefit people of the Highlands. I look forward to working with them all in their new and challenging roles."

The Highland Council:

Head of Health - Sheena MacLeod.
Head of Social Care - Fiona Palin.
Alistair Dodds, Chief Executive, The Highland Council said: "Highland is leading the way in Scotland to integrate care systems. I am confident that these senior appointments are key to leading and supporting the further changes required in completing the integration of care in the Highlands. Through integration, we seek to remove bureaucracy to ensure we are better able to get the right services to the right people at the right time. These managers will lead these service developments."

The new arrangements will see NHS Highland taking on the responsibility of adult social care while The Highland Council will assume responsibility for issues relating to children. These moves will see around 1,400 Council employees coming across to be employed by NHS Highland; and 208 going from NHS Highland to the Highland Council.