Public appointment: Member appointed to Western Isles NHS Board

The Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care, Michael Matheson MSP today announced the appointment of Mrs Naomi Macdonald as a Member of Western Isles NHS Board.

Member

Naomi Macdonald is an experienced children and young people’s practitioner, with previous experience working within the local third sector, primarily within Outer Hebrides Alcohol and Drug Partnership funded services. She is currently leading on the delivery of the Young Islanders Network, ensuring that young people from the islands are heard and included meaningfully in the decisions on their future within all the inhabited Scottish Islands; working closely with a wide variety of stakeholders and organisations across sectors to support young people to be heard and informed. Naomi is passionate about ensuring that services in the islands meet the needs of islanders of all ages and that they can be, as best as possible, shaped around the needs of the patients and service users. She is keen to ensure that many job opportunities on the islands continues to grow and that pathways into employment can continue to be offered locally, to improve the sustainability and continuation of the services on offer for the future.

Appointment

The appointment is for four years, from 1 August 2023 to 31 July 2027.

The appointment is regulated by the Ethical Standards Commissioner.

Remuneration

The appointment is part-time and attracts a remuneration of £8.276 per annum for a time commitment of one day per week.

Other ministerial appointments

Mrs Macdonald does not hold any other public appointments.

Political activity

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 within the last five years (if there is any to be declared) to be made public.   

Mrs Macdonald has had no political activity within the last five years.

Background

NHS Western Isles is responsible for the protection and the improvement of its population’s health and for the delivery of frontline healthcare services to around 27,000 people living in the area, stretching from the Butt in the North part of the Isle of Lewis to Barra in the Southern part of the chain of islands. The Board’s role is to deliver high quality, person centred care and to improve the health and wellbeing of the people of the Western Isles.  In doing so, NHS Western Isles provides a comprehensive range of range of acute, mental health, primary and community services.