NHS Chairs meeting minutes: June 2026

Attendees and apologies

NHS boards – Chairs

• Lesley Bowie, NHS Ayrshire and Arran
• Fiona Sandford, NHS Borders
• Mark Cook, NHS Dumfries and Galloway
• Patricia Kilpatrick, NHS Fife
• Neena Mahal, NHS Forth Valley
• Alison Evison, NHS Grampian
• Lesley Thomson, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
• Sarah Compton-Bishop, NHS Highland
• Katharina Kapser, NHS Lanarkshire
• John Connaghan, NHS Lothian
• Gary Robinson, NHS Shetland
• Tom Spink, NHS Tayside
• Gillian McCannon, NHS Western Isles

Special health boards

• Carole Wilkinson , Healthcare Improvement Scotland
• Martin Cheyne, NHS 24
• Susan Douglas-Scott, NHS Golden Jubilee
• Keith Redpath, Public Service Delivery Scotland
• Alastair (Ally) Boyle, Public Health Scotland
• Brian Moore, The State Hospitals Board for Scotland

Scottish government 

• Angela Constance, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Care
• Caroline Lamb, DG HSC/CE NHS Scotland
• Derek Grieve, Director for Performance and Delivery
• Gillian Russell, Director of Health Workforce
• Fiona Hogg, Chief People Officer
• Donna Bell , Director of Social Care and NCS Development
• Stephen Gallagher, Director of Governance and Assurance
• Richard Foggo, Director of Population Health
• Aisha Holloway, Chief Nursing Officer
• Daniel Kleinberg, Deputy Director: Population Health Resilience and Protection
• Tim Mcdonnell, Director of Primary Care
• Alison Strath, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer

Other attendees

• Jack Gillespie, Deputy Director of Finance NHS Scotland
• Kirsteen Rowlands, Head of Strategic Communications
• Carol Sinclair, Scottish Ambulance Service, Vice Chair
• Joanna Kenny, NHS Orkney, Vice Chair
• John Paul Liddle, Deputy Director for National Care Service Development and Delivery

Apologies

• David Campbell, NHS Orkney
• Tom Steele, Scottish Ambulance Service
• Scottish Health Council, Suzanne Dawson
• Maree Todd, Minister for Mental Wellbeing, Public Health, Sport, Alcohol and Drugs
• Alison Thewliss, Minister for Community Care
• Christine McLaughlin, NHS Scotland Chief Operating Officer
• Fiona Bennett, Interim Deputy Director NHS Scotland Finance
• Gregor Smith, Chief Medical Officer
• Angie Wood, Interim Director, Social Care Resilience and Improvement
• Andrew Watson, Director for Children and Families
• Robert Kirkwood, OCENHS Team
• Neil Harrison, Strategic Communications Lead

Secretariat

• Laurie Whyte, OCENHS Team
• Dom Ellice-Freeman, Board Governance and Appointments Team
• Tim Andrew, Interim Programme Director Executive Support

Items and actions

Welcome, apologies for absence and attendees 

The Cabinet Secretary opened the meeting by welcoming attendees, including newly appointed Chairs – Tom Spink, NHS Tayside, Fiona Sandford, NHS Borders, Davie Campbell, NHS Orkney, and Carole Wilkinson who has returned to her role as Chair of Healthcare Improvement Scotland following a year as interim Chair of NHS Tayside.

Apologies for absence were noted and a full list of attendees is attached at annex a.

Minutes from the previous meeting including matters arising (11 February 2026) (NHSC/26/06) 

The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed, with no matters arising noted.

Cabinet Secretary opening remarks

The Cabinet Secretary opened with a strong emphasis on the importance of delivery, particularly in relation to urgent care, waiting times, and overall service performance. She underlined that there must be a clear focus on outputs and tangible results, with early and sustained progress required to meet the Government’s “100-day commitments”. 
The Cabinet Secretary commented on the need to expand access to primary care and increase operational capacity, while also addressing systemic challenges such as delayed discharge and patient flow through hospitals. She highlighted that meaningful change would depend on strong local delivery and effective leadership across all NHS boards.
The Cabinet Secretary informed NHS Chairs that public sector reform was necessary and it would be a cross-government endeavour that would require improved alignment with communities, stronger accountability at every level, and greater integration across health, social care, and wider public services.
The Cabinet Secretary acknowledged progress made on reducing long waits but stressed that sustained effort would be required to eradicate them fully. She noted that whole-system improvement would only be achieved if all parts of the system improved together, including cancer services, waiting times, and discharge processes.
She highlighted the importance of sub-national plans as a key mechanism for driving delivery and confirmed that additional funding would be linked to outcomes. NHS Chairs were reminded of their critical role in providing oversight, supporting Chief Executives, and ensuring accountability to parliament. The expectation was set that boards should maintain a strong grip on performance and risk, with NHS Chairs actively holding executive teams to account.
The Cabinet Secretary concluded by reinforcing that the coming months would be crucial in setting the pace of delivery and that the contribution of NHS Chairs would be central to ensuring visible improvements for patients.

Feedback from Chairs with update on longest waits

John Connaghan, Chair of NHS Chairs Group and Chair of NHS Lothian, reflected on the progress made over the previous year, noting improvements in quality and safety, maternity services, and system reform, alongside increased collaboration and shared learning across boards. He highlighted that work had been undertaken to strengthen performance management, mutual aid, and population health approaches, and that future planning is being aligned towards long-term objectives.

He outlined that early progress against the 100-day priorities included the rollout of additional GP capacity and the near completion of comprehensive waiting times plans covering inpatient and outpatient services. He also noted that sub-national plans had been submitted and that work was underway to develop a single national plan for hospital flow.

NHS Chairs reflected on the importance of prevention as a core component of future reform, recognising both the strong political support for this agenda and the challenge of delivering it effectively in practice. There was a shared view that difficult decisions would need to be taken to prioritise long-term outcomes over short-term pressures.

Discussion also highlighted the increasing collaboration between boards, particularly at a regional level, and the benefits this brings in addressing shared challenges such as cancer performance and service delivery. However, colleagues emphasised the need for clearer accountability structures and a shared understanding of roles across national, regional, and local levels.

The discussion highlighted a range of collaborative initiatives, including strengthened partnerships between NHS 24 and the Scottish ambulance service, and the development of GP walk-in centres and community-based models of care. These were seen as positive examples of innovation that could improve access, support prevention, and provide more holistic care to patients.

There was recognition that further evaluation of these models would be required to assess their effectiveness and scalability. Colleagues also emphasised the importance of integrating health services more effectively with social care and other partners, noting that stronger collaboration with integration joint boards and care providers would be essential to delivering whole-system improvement.

Participants noted the significant increase in demand for mental health services following the covid-19 pandemic and highlighted the need for more robust demand and capacity planning. It was agreed that addressing these pressures would require both short-term interventions and longer-term strategic planning.

Action: Susan Douglas-Scott, Chair, NHS Golden Jubilee to send the Cabinet Secretary a written update on waiting times.

Maternity services

The Cabinet Secretary invited John Connaghan and Lesley Thomson to provide an update on maternity services, drawing on findings from recent inspections. They outlined six key themes emerging from this work, including workforce planning, staff development, culture and wellbeing, engagement with women and families, governance, and patient safety.
The discussion highlighted concerns about leadership and cultural challenges, with some boards reflecting on the need to focus more strongly on patient care rather than inspection processes. It was noted that previous learning and audit findings had not always been effectively translated into service improvement.
Participants emphasised the importance of strong leadership, visibility, and engagement with frontline staff, as well as the need to ensure that learning is consistently applied in practice. There was also recognition that the themes identified in maternity services are relevant across the wider health system.

Public sector reform

The Cabinet Secretary invited Daniel Kleinberg, Deputy Director: Population Health Resilience and Protection, to introduce a discussion on public sector reform, building on earlier conversations with Chief Executives. He emphasised the need to refocus efforts on service users and outcomes, rather than organisational structures, and noted that further work would be undertaken over the summer to develop options for Ministers.

The discussion highlighted the importance of taking an evidence-based and collaborative approach to reform, with a focus on consensus-building and addressing demand. Participants reflected on learning from other systems and emphasised that the starting point for reform would be critical to its success.

There was recognition that, while previous transformation efforts had not always achieved the desired impact, there is an opportunity to build on learning and deliver more meaningful change in future.

Action: public engagement on reform to be put on a future Chairs meeting agenda.

Any other business

None

Date and time of next meeting

Secretariat will liaise with private office and confirm dates for future meetings for the rest of the year.