This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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NHS public appointments
24/03/2003
Peter Hamilton and Mrs Ravinder Nijjar are to be appointed as Members of Greater Glasgow NHS Board and Mrs Maire Whitehead is to be appointed as a Trustee of South Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust.
All three will take up appointment on 1 April 2003. Mr Hamilton's and Mrs Nijjar's appointments will be for four years and Mrs Whitehead's for two years.
Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm said:
"I am delighted to announce these important new appointments. They have already demonstrated, through the selection process, a clear understanding of the issues being faced within NHS Greater Glasgow, and each will bring energy and enthusiasm to both the Board and the Trust.
Welcoming the appointments to the NHS Board, Sir John Arbuthnott, Chair of Greater Glasgow NHS Board said:
"I welcome these new appointments as both have demonstrated a major commitment to serving their communities. They will bring a wealth of experience to the Board. Their appointments reflect the greater drive towards public involvement in the decision-making process so that the NHS can deliver the best possible health services to the people of Glasgow."
Welcoming the appointment to the South Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust, Chair Elinor Smith said:
" My colleagues and I are delighted that Maire Whitehead will shortly join the Trust Management Team at South Glasgow. As we shape the future of 21 st century health care across the communities served by the Trust, Maire Whitehead, with her depth of local knowledge and experience, will play an essential role as we work in partnership to deliver new acute health care facilities."
Greater Glasgow NHS Board has an annual budget of over £999 million.
Peter Hamilton has spent most of his working life in the telecommunications industry. Having held many senior positions within British Telecom, he retired as Operations Manager in West of Scotland in 1995. Over the past eight years, Mr Hamilton has been an active member of Greater Glasgow Health Council and for the last 4 years served as Convenor. Mr Hamilton has not been involved in any political activity within the last five years. He currently holds a Ministerial appointment as a Member of Glasgow Childrens' Panel serving the east end of the city and was elected Vice Chair of that area for a period of three years. No remuneration.
Ravinder Kaur Nijjar is a member of the Sikh faith and is currently Chair of the Scottish Inter Faith Council. She is a practising teacher with 23 years experience of teaching in the secondary and primary sector. She is an active member of the local community and has also been involved for many years with a number of voluntary organisations such as The UK Interfaith Network, Glasgow Council on Alcohol and Scottish Joint Committee on Religious and Moral Education. She has not been involved in any political activity within the last five years, and does not hold any other Ministerial appointments.
Maire Whitehead is a newly retired Headteacher with 35 years experience of working in the education sector. Her interests in the community are wide, and as a Headteacher she has been an active health campaigner. Mrs Whitehead is currently Chair of the Friends of the Victoria, although she will step down from this position on take up of her appointment with the Trust. Within the last 5 years, Mrs Whitehead stood as a Scottish National Party candidate at the 1999 Scottish Parliament elections, has acted as a political agent and has held office such as Chair, Treasurer or Secretary of a local branch of that Party. Mrs Whitehead currently holds a Ministerial appointment as an Independent Assessor of Public Appointments for which she receives an attendance fee of £250 per day.
It is expected that as members and a trustee they will each contribute around eight hours per week for which the annual remuneration is £7,000.
Kenneth Corsar and Mrs Margaret Nelson are to be appointed as Members of Lanarkshire NHS Board.
Mr Corsar's appointment will commence on 1 April 2003 and Mrs Nelson's on 1 July 2003. Both appointments will be for 4 years.
Mr Chisholm said:
"I am delighted to announce these important new appointments.
Mr Corsar and Mrs Nelson have already demonstrated, through the selection process, a clear understanding of the issues being faced within NHS Lanarkshire, and each will bring energy and enthusiasm to the Board.
Mr Lex Gold, Chair of Lanarkshire NHS Board said:
"We welcome the Minister's announcement and are delighted with these new appointments. Kenneth Corsar has a wealth of public service experience and has the commitment and drive to make a huge contribution to the major challenges we face moving NHS Lanarkshire forward. He will be an excellent addition to the Board. Margaret Nelson has taken a very close personal interest in the health service over a long period of time. She has given freely and willingly of her time to learn about the issues we face in NHS Lanarkshire. She is certain to make a first-class contribution to the Board and we look forward to welcoming her later this year."
Lanarkshire NHS Board has an annual budget of over £535 million.
Kenneth Corsar, now retired, spent many years with the Education Department of Strathclyde and Glasgow local authorities and was latterly Director of Education with Glasgow City Council. Throughout his working life, Mr Corsar has had experience of serving on committees and has Chaired the Schools Drug Safety Team and more recently the Children's Services group for the Scottish Refugee Integration Forum. Along with the previous Chief Executive of NHS Greater Glasgow he established the Shared Interests Group for senior staff in Education and Health to foster joint working and to review progress. Mr Corsar has not been involved in any political activity within the last five years, and does not hold any other Ministerial appointments.
Margaret Nelson is a former Human Resources and Change/Project Management professional. During her career she held many senior positions within British Telecom. She has considerable experience of voluntary work, with a particular commitment to health. She held the position of Secretary with the West of Scotland Ileostomy Association for over 20 years, is currently a lay member with the Lanarkshire Research Ethics Committee and has recently take up appointment as a lay reviewer with NHS Quality Improvement Scotland. Mrs Nelson is also a lay member with Employment Tribunals (Scotland). Mrs Nelson has not been involved in any political activity within the last five years, and does not hold any other Ministerial appointments.
It is expected that as members they will contribute around 8 hours per week for which the annual remuneration is £7,000.
The appointments were made in accordance with guidance issued by the Office of the Commissioner of Public Appointments (OCPA). A statement of validation from the Independent Assessor appointed by OCPA has been obtained. This confirms full compliance with the OCPA Code of Practice at each stage of the appointments process.
The establishment of 15 new NHS Boards was announced in 'Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change' (Scottish Executive Health Department, December 2000). Further details were given in the policy document 'Rebuilding our National Health Service' (May 2001). NHS Boards have been designed to simplify and rationalise existing NHS decision-making structures and create greater accountability and transparency. NHS Boards provide strategic leadership and direction in each local health system, leaving each NHS Trust free to concentrate on delivering its operational responsibilities for health care. Trust boards have been replaced by a Trust management team, more closely focused around delivery of service to patients, and which includes the Chair and two trustees in addition to five executive directors.