This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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NHS Quality Improvement Scotland appointments
10/01/2006
Health Minister today announced the appointment of Ms Valerie Atkinson, Mrs Lynne MacMillan and Dr Paul Knight to the NHS Quality Improvement Scotland Board.
Valerie Atkinson retired last year as Deputy Head of News and Current Affairs after 27 years in BBC Scotland. She was closely involved in the Corporation's response to devolution in Scotland and Wales and led the BBC Scotland team in negotiations with the Scottish Parliament on media access and the setting up of the BBC's Parliamentary Unit.
She was a member of the Scottish Constitutional Steering Group's Expert Panel on the Media. She is a member of the Generation Scotland Advisory Board for which she receives no annual remuneration and is also on the boards of Glasgow Women's Library and Glasgow Repertory Company. Ms Atkinson was a Trustee of the National Galleries of Scotland from 1997-2005. She does not hold any other ministerial appointments.
Lynne MacMillan is a consumer policy consultant with a legal background. She practised as a solicitor in Ayrshire briefly before taking up a position as Legal Officer with the Scottish Consumer Council. She has wide experience of consumer and public affairs in Scotland. Recently she worked with a public affairs consultancy in Edinburgh providing advice to corporate clients, business groups and charitable organisations.
As Scottish Director of Public Concern at Work, she set up the charity's Scottish office in 2002, which provides a helpline to people concerned about possible malpractice at work. She has also served on Greater Glagow Health Board's Maternity Services Liaison Group and the Consultative Steering Group's Expert Panel on Standing Orders and Procedures, which helped prepare the Scottish Parliament's Standing Orders. She is a trustee of The Essentia Foundation. She does not hold any other ministerial appointments.
Dr Paul Knight is a consultant physician and the Clinical Director of Medicine for the Elderly at Glasgow Royal Infirmary. He has previously been a reviewer for the Scottish Hospitals Advisory Service and worked with NHS QIS in developing their standards for the care of older people. He was a member of the Chief Medical Officer's Expert Group on Older People and contributed to the report 'Adding Life to Years'.
Dr Knight is the Honorary Secretary and Registrar of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow and the General Secretary of the European Union Geriatric Medicine Society. He was previously the Chair of the Policy Committee of the British Geriatrics Society. An Honorary Senior Lecturer at Glasgow University, Dr Knight is also a Visiting Professor of Medicine at Ohio University, USA and an Associate Post Graduate Dean with NHS Education Scotland. He does not hold any other ministerial appointments.
All three appointments will be for a period of four years from January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2009.
These posts are part time with a time commitment of eight hours per week for which the annual remuneration is £7,490.
The aim of NHS QIS is to strengthen public confidence in the health service and to support the delivery of higher standards of care, with improved outcomes and experiences for patients and carers, and better value for money.
These Ministerial appointments were made in accordance with the Code of Practice issued by the Office of the Commisioner for Public Appointments in Scotland.
All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees' political activity (if any declared) to be made public. Within the last five years, Mrs MacMillan has canvassed on behalf of the Scottish Labour Party. Ms Atkinson and Dr Knight have not been involved in any political activity.