Health board position for ex Observer man
A former Stirling Observer journalist has been appointed to the board of NHS Forth Valley.
Allan Rennie worked as a journalist on a variety of newspapers and was editor of the Sunday Mail and Daily Record.
Latterly he was managing director of Media Scotland responsible for two national titles, Business Insider magazine, an events division and 17 regional newspapers.
He joins former Forth Valley senior police officer Stephen McAllister as one of two new appointments to the board announced by Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport Jeane Freeman this week.
NHS Forth Valley is responsible for meeting the health needs of around 300,000 people living in Forth Valley, and provides a comprehensive range of primary, community-based and acute hospital services for populations covering a geographic area from Killin and Tyndrum in the north and Strathblane and Bo’ness in the south.
Ms Freeman said: “Allan was latterly managing director of Media Scotland and brings a wealth of communication and management knowledge to the role.
“He managed a diverse portfolio of brands with a focus on people, performance and partnership. Allan also ran campaigns with charities such as CHAS and partnered with the Scottish Government on the Scottish Health Awards. He is looking forward to working with executives and health professionals at a critical time as NHS Forth Valley strives to improve health care services for 288,000 people in central Scotland.”
Allan said: “I am delighted to be appointed to this important role and look forward to supporting NHS Forth Valley in delivering quality, inclusive, care.”
Former senior police officer Stephen has extensive experience in leadership, governance and performance management.
Ms Freeman added: “During his career Stephen was a Police Hostage and Crisis Negotiator, which allowed him to develop excellent active listening skills and influencing skills. He was the Police Divisional Commander in Forth Valley prior to retiring and as such has a good perspective on the delivery of a unitary service across three local authorities and a firm understanding of the physical and social geography of the area that Forth Valley Health Board covers.
“Since leaving Police Scotland, he has built up non-executive board experience in both the voluntary and public sector and as a consultant in mental health improvement and negotiation. Stephen hopes to bring these various strands of his police career and post police experience to the benefit of Forth Valley Health board and community it serves.”
The appointments are part-time and attract a remuneration of £8,416 per annum for a time commitment of one day per week. They will run for four years from January 1 2019 until December 31 2022.