Carolyn McDonald

Carolyn McDonald has been the Chief Allied Health Professions Officer since January 2020.

Carolyn McDonald has a professional leadership and policy lead role for the 14 Allied Health Profession (AHP) Groups. She provides advice to ministers and the Government on professional matters including education, training, workforce, regulation and role/service development as well as leading on policy for adult rehabilitation and falls prevention.

Carolyn trained as an occupational therapist in Dublin, graduating in 1985, and has worked all of her professional life in Scotland. She has held various clinical roles across her occupational therapy career predominantly in community child health where she set up and expanded this service in Fife. 

Before taking up post as Chief Allied Health Professions Officer for the Scottish Government on 6 January 2020, Carolyn was the Associate Director for the Allied Health Professions for the last ten years in NHS Fife where she held a strategic leadership role for all of the allied health professions where she lead on their contribution to the delivering on national and local policy including the legislation on the integration of health and social care.