New boss of troubled NHS Lothian vows to see it on the road to recovery

By Natalie Walker
Published on 31/07/2012 23:27

SCOTLAND’S second biggest health board – which has been criticised 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 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 £195,000-a-year post had been vacant since Professor James Barbour retired 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 was 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.

“My priority will be to get our waiting-times targets back on track and to 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.

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