A new leader of the NHS Fife Board has been announced.

Patricia Kilpatrick - currently vice chair of the NHS Tayside board - has been formally appointed Chair of the NHS Fife Board by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care Michael Matheson and will take up the role on the February 1, 2024.

Ms Kilpatrick will succeed Alistair Morris who was appointed Acting Chair in April 2023 following the announcement that Tricia Marwick was stepping down as Chair of the NHS Fife Board, after six years in the role.

Speaking about her appointment, Ms Kilpatrick said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be taking on this leadership position on the Board of NHS Fife.

“It is a real privilege to be able to help lead this outstanding organisation and I am very excited by the potential of NHS Fife and getting to know the staff that deliver services 24/7, 365 days a year to often the most vulnerable in society.

“I am also excited about the huge potential for NHS Fife to play a key role as an Anchor Institution, working with partners across the public, third and independent sectors to help the people of Fife to remain well.”

Patricia (Pat) Kilpatrick has been a non-executive board member at NHS Tayside 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

NHS Fife Chief Executive Carol Potter said: “I’m delighted to welcome Patricia to the NHS Fife Board and look forward to working with her to continue to drive forward NHS Fife and to advance our position as one of the most progressive and innovative boards in Scotland.

“Patricia brings a strong track record of healthcare leadership combined with a passionate commitment to the development of our health services.

“At NHS Fife we’re really focused on the impact we can make to people living and working in our local communities. Patricia’s experience will be key to the delivery of our new Population Health and Wellbeing Strategy and future thinking around health services across the Kingdom.

“I’d also like to pay a huge tribute to and say a personal thanks to Alistair Morris for his work in the role of Acting Chair of the NHS Fife Board.

“Over the last year Alistair has provided stability to the Board and supportive leadership. His experience as Vice-Chair, combined with his professional acumen, allowed us to advance the work of the NHS Fife Board thorough the ambitions outlined in our Strategy, and address with confidence the range of challenges presenting to NHS Fife during this post COVID recovery phase.”