Public appointment: Members reappointed to Lothian NHS Board

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Neil Gray MSP, today announced the reappointment of Elizabeth Gordon, George Gordon, Peter Knight and Val de Souza as Members of Lothian NHS Board.

Members

Elizabeth Gordon sits on the Staff Governance Committee, the Audit and Risk Committee and is a Member of both the Edinburgh and East Lothian Integration Joint Boards. She is also a Current Council and Board member of the Advertising Standards Authority, the UKs independent regulator of advertising with responsibility for ensuring that UK adverts are legal, decent and truthful. Prior to her current roles Elizabeth was a solicitor in the occupational pensions team of a Scottish law firm and undertook a management role with a large independent provider of NHS dentistry in Edinburgh. She appreciates the vital role of the NHS and will continue to apply the skills and knowledge acquired from her legal background and primary care management and Board experience to the NHS Lothian Board.

 

George Gordon brings 40 years of experience as a community leader and activist in North Edinburgh, having assisted in the setting up and construction of numerous groups and organisations including community councils, youth groups and facilities, community centres, and older people services. He has a wealth of experience in areas of disability, equality, and sustainability and was a former champion and spokesperson for The City of Edinburgh Council for these areas. He has chaired several key groups including Edible Edinburgh Partnership and the Capital City Partnership for The City of Edinburgh Council and has a particular focus on health and social care and raising awareness and services for citizens, especially those in poverty and deprivation. He has held positions on a number of primary committees and Integration Joint Boards within NHS Lothian and is chair of the Organ and Tissue Donation Group. He brings a particular focus on patient experience of services and facilities, having been a disabled person since 1980. He also has experience of being an unpaid carer for over 20 years, so is always looking to ensure that service provision is of the highest possible standard.

 

Peter Knight brings a lifelong commitment to the NHS, to public health and eradicating inequalities. Before his retirement in 2022, he was a leading NHS statistician in Scotland, working on a wide range of important themes that are as relevant now as they were in the past e.g. NHS waiting times and performance targets, care of older people, drug and alcohol misuse, and childhood immunisation programmes. In the decade prior to the formation of Integrated Joint Boards, his analytical expertise was deployed in support of the NHS, local authorities, and the Scottish Government, as they planned for and improved ‘joined up’ care across health and social care. Peter has contributed to several papers on Scotland’s integration journey in international journals and is qualified in statistics and applied economics.

 

Val de Souza, a social worker by profession, has held the post of Chief Social Work Officer in Stirling and Clackmannanshire, and latterly worked across NHS Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire council as the Chief Officer (CO) for Health and Social Care. As CO Val led all social work, social care services, and community health services in South Lanarkshire and Primary Care, Palliative Care and Out of Hours services for all of Lanarkshire. She has significant experience in the area of Public Protection and a keen interest in working collaboratively across public services, especially the third sector, in the interest and service of the health and wellbeing of communities.

Reappointments

Elizabeth Gordon, Peter Knight and Val de Souza’s reappointments will be for 4 years and will run from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2029.

George Gordon’s reappointment will run from 16 May 2025 to 31 December 2026.

The reappointments are regulated by the Ethical Standards Commissioner.

Remuneration

The reappointments are part-time and attract a remuneration of £11,700 for a time commitment of 52 days per annum.

Other ministerial appointments

Elizabeth Gordon, George Gordon, Peter Knight and Val de Souza do 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.   

George Gordon was a local councillor from May 2017 to May 2022 where he stood as a candidate and spoke on behalf of the Scottish National Party during this period as a lead member of the City of Edinburgh Council’s administration.

Peter Knight is a member of the labour party.

Elizabeth Gordon and Val de Souza have had no political activity within the last five years.

Background

NHS Lothian is responsible for protecting and improving the health of the 850,000 population across Lothian and works closely with local authorities and third sector partners in providing an integrated system of community-based health and social care across East Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian and West Lothian. They also provide some services for patients in the Borders and in Fife and are a national centre of expertise for some specialties provided to people across Scotland