Public appointments: Non-executive Members appointed to Dumfries & Galloway NHS Board

The Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care, Michael Matheson MSP today announced the appointments of Ms Marsali Caig, Ms Rhianna Davies-McCrorie, and Mr Gwilym Gibbons as a Members of Dumfries & Galloway NHS Board.

Members

Marsali Caig.  Following legal training, Marsali worked in Whitehall and the House of Commons supporting the Government of the time with development and delivery of its new programme for health and social care.  Working directly to Ministers, she was able to make the most of significant opportunities to hone her communication, policy development and project management skills.

A return to work for the NHS in her native Dumfries & Galloway, followed by a number of years in Cumbria, gave her a deep and broad understanding of the NHS; in particular in relation to the commissioning of health and social care services, corporate governance and programme management to deliver turnaround culture change and financial recovery.  Until recently, Marsali was the Non-executive Whistleblowing Champion on the Board.

Rhianna Davies-McCrorie is looking forward to bringing to the Board her wealth of experiences as an autistic patient and service user with chronic and mental illnesses from a very young age.  As well as her experiences as a carer for a person with the same, she is incredibly passionate about bringing the authentic voice of young people and people with disabilities to the Board in order to improve the quality of the delivery of health and care services for everyone.  She has always been passionate about being a voice in her community, and throughout the years Rhianna has worked hard to advocate for people whose voices may struggle to be heard.

She has regularly raised money for charities supporting people with chronic illnesses, and engaged in campaigns for mutual aid, connecting struggling people so they can feel less alone and unseen.  Over the past two years she has been heavily involved in the CAMHS Youth Forum in the area, developing resources and working with other young people to improve the quality of care and understanding for young people and parents.  

Gwilym Gibbons is a social-value creative leader, producer, Lifeboat Crew Member, and former Park Ranger.  He has been Chief Executive of The Crichton Trust a social enterprise in Dumfries since April 2018, where he is leading a bold vision for a new way to work, live, study and play - cross-generational, age-friendly and adaptive, low carbon and tech-enabled while staying highly socially connected. Gwilym was previously Chief Executive of Horsecross Arts, where he led the Perth Concert Hall team and the £16m redevelopment of the historic Perth Theatre.  For eight years prior he was the first Director of Shetland Arts, in which capacity he spearheaded the development and construction of the award-winning Mareel, the UK’s most northerly cinema and music venue.  As a social entrepreneur Gwilym holds several non-executive roles including Chair/Co-founder of the Future Economy Company and Chair of Tourbook CIC.  Gwilym is co-chair South of Scotland SCDI and a former Board Member of Creative Scotland.

Self-educated while growing up in communes throughout the UK, after two experimental years in school, Gwilym found his way into the arts through a youth arts project in Milton Keynes, beginning his career as a freelance drama and circus workshop leader and street theatre performer.  Gwilym is a Fellow of RSA, Chartered Fellow of Chartered Management Institute and was awarded in 2014 an Honorary Fellowship of University of Highland and Islands for his contribution to arts and education

Appointments

These appointments are for four years, from 6 April 2023 to 5 April 2027.

These appointments are regulated by the Ethical Standards Commissioner.

Remuneration

These appointments are part-time and attract a remuneration of £8,930 per annum for a time commitment of one day per week

Other ministerial appointments

Ms Marsali Caig, Ms Rhianna Davies-McCrorie, and Mr Gwilym Gibbons 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.  

Ms Marsali Caig, Ms Rhianna Davies-McCrorie, and Mr Gwilym Gibbons have had no political activity within the last five years. 

Background

NHS Dumfries & Galloway is responsible for meeting the health needs of the 150,000 people living in the region, and works with partner organisations to provide a comprehensive range of primary, community-based and acute hospital services tailored for the whole population.