NHS Highland Board

The Board of Directors is accountable to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing and the Scottish Government. The Board governs the accountability and performance of NHS Highland services.
The Board Chairman and each of the Non-executive directors are appointed by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing. The NHS Board itself consists of the Chairman, Garry Coutts, Executive and Non Executive Directors.

Alternatively you can contact Board members at NHS Highland, Assynt House, Beechwood Park, Inverness, IV2 3BW.

Mr Garry Coutts was appointed Chair of Highland NHS Board for a four year period from 5 April 2004.  He is the Managing Director of The Communication Skills Company ( Scotland) Ltd, a training company.  Prior to being appointed Chairman, he served as a member of Highland NHS Board for 2 years as the nominated Local Authority Councillor for Highland Council and he chaired the Audit and the Patient and Public Engagement Committees in his capacity as a Board member.  Garry is also Chairman of the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC).  Mr Coutts was re-appointed for a further period of four years from 5 April 2008 to 4 April 2012.

Ian Gibson (Vice Chairman and Chair of Audit Committee)

Ian Gibson was, until recently, Director of Macmillan Cancer Relief for Scotland and Northern Ireland and is now working as a self-employed Management Consultant.  He is a member of the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care.  He lives in Newtonmore.  Mr Gibson’s career included previous experience in management in both the hospital and ambulance services.
Mr Gibson is currently Vice Chairman of NHS Highland and Chair of the Audit Committee and Endowment Funds Committee. 

Mr Gibson was appointed in July 2005 for four years and has since been re-appointed for a further period of four years until 30 June 2013.

Bill Brackenridge (Chair of Argyll and Bute Community Health Partnership)

Bill Brackenridge was a management consultant for 25 years until he retired in 2003.  Before that he worked in civil aviation and in local government.  He is currently the Chairman of The Helensburgh Partnership - a joint initiative by Argyll & Bute Council and Scottish Enterprise Dunbartonshire to revitalise Helensburgh.  From 1999 to 2005 he was a Non-Executive Director of Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd.  He was appointed Chair of the Scottish Ambulance Service in 2003.  Mr Brackenridge was appointed to the Board in June 2006 for three years and has been re-appointed for a further period of four years to 31 May 2013.

Iain Kennedy (Chair of Area Clinical Forum)

Dr Iain Kennedy is a GP at Riverside Medical Practice.  He is a Non-Executive Member of NHS Highland in his role as Chairman of the Area Clinical Forum, which has responsibility to provide multidisciplinary clinical advice to the Board. He was appointed in October 2011 for a period of 4 years to 30 September 2015.

Robin Creelman (Non-Executive Member)Robin Creelman was born and educated in Greenock. He has worked in Scotland and the United Arab Emirates in the civil engineering industry, holding senior management positions. On returning to Scotland he set up home in Argyll, establishing several businesses in the construction, service and leisure industries. For the past decade Mr Creelman has been involved as a lay representative with the NHS in Scotland, where his main interest has been public involvement and the control and prevention of infection. He was a member of the HAI taskforce from 2004, Chairing its public involvement and communications team until stepping down at the end of 2010. He has also been a member of the National Patient Safety Advisory Board and the first elected Chair of Argyll and Bute Public Partnership Forum. Mr Creelman brings to this role his considerable knowledge gained as a lay person on a variety of NHS issues, with significant experience of community engagement in contributing to patient and public involvement.  He was appointed in April 2011 for a period of four years to 31 March 2015. 

(Highland Council Representative - Vacancy)

Mike Evans (Chair of Raigmore Hospital)

Mike Evans joined the Board in August 2010 when he was appointed for a period of 4 years to 31 July 2014.  He and chairs the Raigmore Hospital Committee.  Mr Evans is an accountant who lives in Strathpeffer.  He is also a Non-Executive Member on the Cromarty Firth Port Authority.  

Mrs Gillian McCreath (Chair of South East Highland Community Health Partnership)

Mrs Gillian McCreath was previously a member of Highland Council, representing the Westhill and Smithton area of Inverness. She has been closely involved with the development of integrated children’s services. She previously was a member of the Highland Health Council and worked for a number of years in a community pharmacy. Mrs McCreath does not hold any other Ministerial appointments.  Mrs McCreath was appointed to the Board in February 2007 for a period of 4 years and re-appointed for a further period of four years until 31 January 2015. 

Okain McLennan (Chair of Mid Highland Community Health Partnership)

Mr Okain McLennan is a caseworker in the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA) Forces Help.  He retired from the Civil Service in 2000, having served in various capacities in the Benefits Agency, the Employment Service, the Manpower Services Commission and, HM Customs and Excise.  Mr McLennan is a current Community Council member, is the Chairman of Volunteering Highland and was a Member of the Standards Commission for Scotland until January 2011.  Mr McLennan’s appointment was for a period of 3 years until 31 January 2010 initially and then re-appointed for a further 4 years to 31 January 2014.

Colin Punler (Chair of North Highland Community Health Partnership)

Mr Colin Punler is employed by the UK Atomic Energy Authority as communications manager for decommissioning of the Dounreay experimental reactor site in Caithness. A former newspaper journalist, he is a member of the board of management of Pentland Housing Association and is a former director of Caithness CAB and former chairman of Ormlie Community Association Ltd in Thurso.  He does not hold any other Ministerial appointments.  Mr Punler’s was appointed to the Board in June 2007 for a period of 4 years until 31 May, 2011, and then re-appointed for a further 4 years to 31 May 2015.

(Argyll & Bute Council Representative - Vacancy)

Vivian Shelley (Non-Executive Member)

Dr Vivian Shelley has had a long career in education, mainly in the tertiary sector.  She was the Director of Lifelong Learning at the University of Durham from 1995-2001 and the Continuing Professional Development Officer at the University of Glasgow from 2002-2005. Dr Shelley was a member of the Board of Argyll College, one of the academic partners in the UHI Millennium Institute, from January 2006-July 2007.  She does not hold any other ministerial appointments.  Dr Shelley was Chair of the Clinical Governance Committee unitl January 2011.  She was appointed on 1 June 2006 for two years.  She has been re-appointed for a further period of four years to 31 May 2012.

Ray Stewart (Employee Director)

Ray Stewart was appointed to the Board in the position of Employee Director in October 2005 for a period of four years.  He has been an Electronic Technician in Medical Physics for 14 years and is a senior representative of Amicus.  Ray is Joint Chair of the Highland Partnership Forum, as part of his Employee Director role.  He was re-appointed for a further year to 30 September 2010, then for a further 3 years to 30 September 2013.

Sarah Wedgwood (Chair of Clinical Governance Committee)

Sarah Wedgwood joined the Board in August 2010 when she was appointed for a period of 4 years to 31 July 2014.  Sarah has a long term interest in making sure ordinary people's voices are heard in terms of planning and providing public services, particularly health and social services.  She has spent the last 12 years in public sector roles which allowed her to fulfil this commitment.  Sarah has previously worked for Quality Improvement Scotland (QIS) and the Care Commission and lives in Lochcarron.   She was the principal author of the Crerar Review covering quality assurance and regulation of health and social care services.  Sarah has an MBA from Edinburgh University and is an honorary member of staff within Glasgow University Medical School.  She also has a number of voluntary commitments. 

Executive Directors

The Executive Directors are NHS Highland employees, but they also have appointments as Executive Director from the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing.

 Ms Elaine Mead (NHS Highland Chief Executive)

Elaine Mead took up post as Chief Executive of NHS Highland in January 2011.  She joined NHS Highland in February 2005 as Chief Operating Officer.  She was previously Director of Operations and Deputy Chief Executive of the West Dorset General Hospitals NHS Trust, which provides hospital services to a largely rural population of similar size to Highland.  Elaine has had 25 years experience of working in the NHS and has also worked in private healthcare.   Her clinical background was as a Diagnostic Radiographer.   Elaine moved into management and has worked in both acute and secondary care in a wide number of settings across the UK.   
Dr Ian Bashford BSc [Med. Sc.], MB.ChB., Cert. GP VT, MRCOG, MSc.[Pub. Hlth] MFPM, (Board Medical Director)

Dr Bashford took up post as Medical Director of NHS Highland in April 2007.  He was educated in Edinburgh and Edinburgh University Medical School and undertook several years general post-registration training, including general practice vocational training and subsequently trained in the specialty of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, with posts in Edinburgh, Bristol, Bath and Portsmouth.  Dr Bashford then pursued a career as a Principal in General Practice within a large teaching practice in Gosport Hampshire, maintaining a special interest in Obstetrics & Gynaecology.  He completed an MSc in Public Health at Edinburgh University and joined the Primary Care Division of the Scottish Executive Health Department, where he was subsequently appointed the head of the Primary Care Development Unit.   Dr Bashford then worked as a Medical Business Manager at Inveresk Research International, developing a health care quality assurance system for both primary and secondary health care.  He returned to the Scottish Executive Health Department as a Senior Medical Officer with a responsibility for Women and Children’s Health, prior to taking up the post of NHS Highland Board Medical Director.

Vacancy (Director of Finance)

Ms Heidi May (Board Director of Nursing)

Heidi May, Board Nurse Director, joined NHS Highland in July 2005 as Board Nurse Director.  Heidi was previously Acting Director of Nursing at the North Middlesex University Trust in North London. Heidi chairs the Area Nursing & Midwifery Committee. 

Dr Margaret Somerville (Director of Public Health and Health Policy)

Dr Margaret Somerville took up post as NHS Highland’s Director of Public Health from 1 February 2010.  Dr Somerville was previously Director of Public Health Learning at the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry (University of Plymouth).  Margaret has been a consultant in Public Health since 1996, working in South West England, including the post of Director of Public Health for Teignbridge PCT.  She has been the Public Health Training Programme Director for NHS South West and is currently an examiner for the Faculty of Public Health.

Anne Gent was appointed as an Executive member of the Board in March 2009.  She took up post as Director of Human Resources for NHS Highland in April 2004, having previously worked as the Director of Development for Highland Primary Care Trust from April 1999.  Prior to moving into Human Resources, Anne trained as a general and sick children’s nurse and worked as a Health Visitor before moving into a range of management roles in Community Nursing, moving from London to the Highlands in 1992.