Public appointment: Chair appointed to Fife NHS Board

The Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care, Michael Matheson MSP today announced the appointment of Ms Patricia Kilpatrick as Chair of Fife NHS Board.

Chair

Patricia (Pat) Kilpatrick is currently the Vice Chair at NHS Tayside having been a non-executive board member there for the past five years. She has extensive experience in healthcare spanning a career of 40 years. Graduating with an MA Hons in Modern History and Political Science from the University of Dundee in 1979 Pat joined the NHS Scotland Graduate Training Scheme and has held Executive Director roles in planning and performance with a number of Boards including Tayside, Forth Valley, Argyll and Clyde and Greater Glasgow and Clyde, in addition to organisational development roles at a national level promoting and supporting policy changes across the service. She led the MBA Programme in Healthcare Management at the University of Stirling for a number of years, combining academic research with management development within the healthcare sector. In recent years her experience has been in advisory services within management consultancy, working extensively with the Department of Health in NHS England, NHS London and a number of NHS Trusts and Health Authorities across the UK and Northern Ireland. Much of her consultancy experience has been in planning, service improvement, re-configuration and financial turnaround.

Appointment

Ms Kilpatrick’s appointment will be for four years and will run from 1 February 2024 to 31 January 2028.

The appointment is regulated by the Ethical Standards Commissioner.

Remuneration

The appointment is part-time and attracts an annual remuneration of £33,351 for a time commitment of three days per week.

Other ministerial appointments

Ms Kilpatrick is currently Vice Chair of Tayside NHS Board, for which she receives remuneration of £2,257 per month for a time commitment of 3 days per week. Ms Kilpatrick will step down from this role prior to joining Fife NHS Board.

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.   

Ms Kilpatrick has had no political activity over the last five years.

Background

NHS Fife is one of 14 territorial NHS Boards in Scotland. The organisation provides healthcare to a population of more than 370,000 and currently employs around 8,700 staff. Across a large rural area with varied geography and several centres of population, NHS Fife is tasked with delivering high quality person-centred care whilst improving the overall health and wellbeing of the people of Fife. NHS Fife works closely with local population, patients, staff and colleagues within the Health and Social Care Partnership and a Joint Integration Board and third sector to ensure local needs are met for the community.