SCOTLAND’S second biggest health board - which has been slammed for a culture of bullying, cover-ups and inappropriate management - has appointed a new chief executive.
• Tim Davison, the new chief executive has said he will ‘rebuild the reputation’ of the board
• NHS Lothian was heavily criticised for doctoring official figures to meet government waiting time targets
• Mr Davison has worked for the NHS for nearly 30 years, including stints as Chief Executive of three NHS Trusts in Glasgow and Chief Executive of NHS Lanarkshire
New NHS Lothian boss Tim Davison has vowed to “rebuild the reputation” of the board which was slammed for doctoring official figures to avoid missing government waiting time targets.
An independent study into the board was ordered by the Scottish Government after it emerged staff had tampered with the figures. Its findings, published in June, called for a radical overhaul of the board’s management style.
The post had been vacant since Professor James Barbour retired from the £195,000-a-year post in June after more than a decade.
Mr Davison has worked in the NHS for almost three decades and has held posts at a number of Scottish health boards. He has been the Chief Executive of three NHS Trusts in Glasgow between 1994 and 2005, before being appointed to the post of Chief Executive at NHS Lanarkshire.
Mr Davison said: “I have worked hard over the past three months to help set NHS Lothian on the road to recovery and I am delighted to be given the chance to see that through to a successful conclusion over the years ahead.
“NHS Lothian has many challenges to face over the next few years. My priority will be to get our waiting times targets back on track and get our patients seen as quickly and effectively as possible.
“The management styles and culture have been heavily criticised but there is ongoing work on those matters. Everybody I have met wants to rebuild the reputation of NHS Lothian and have it recognised throughout Scotland and beyond for delivering excellent standards of care for patients and as a good place to work.”
Dr Charles Winstanley, Chair of NHS Lothian Board, said: “This is one of the biggest jobs in the NHS in Scotland and Tim has a lot of hard work ahead of him but I am confident that he is the right person to help take NHS Lothian forward.”
Eddie Egan, Vice Chairman of NHS Lothian and Employee Director said: “Morale has been very low across the Board for some months now and I am sure that Tim will have a positive impact on that as we go forward.”
Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon, who ordered the report into the board, demanded the board took on a new and improved strategic direction.
She said: “I want to be clear that there is no place in any part of the NHS for a management style or culture of this type and it will not be tolerated.
The government has already ordered the board to produce an action plan to bring improvements in waiting time information reporting, governance and culture.
NHS Lothian employs 28,000 staff, including 15,000 nurses and midwives and 2,700 medical staff. In March, when news of the mis-reporting of waiting times broke, Prof Barbour claimed bullying and harassment had “never been tolerated in NHS Lothian”.