Black Isle-based pharmacist lands director of community engagement post with Healthcare Improvement Scotland in role that aims to make a difference to many
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Healthcare Improvement Scotland has appointed Clare Morrison MBE from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society as its new director of community engagement.
Clare, who lives on the Black Isle, is a pharmacist and a Scottish Quality & Safety Fellow.
The purpose of Healthcare Improvement Scotland is to enable the people of Scotland to experience the best quality of health and social care. Clare will support the engagement of people and communities in shaping health and care services in Scotland.
She began her career 24 years ago working in community pharmacy, GP practice pharmacy and NHS board pharmacy roles in NHS Highland, before undertaking additional training as an independent prescriber and in quality improvement.
She then joined the Scottish Government’s Technology Enabled Care Team in 2020 supporting the national response to the pandemic as National Lead for rolling out Near Me, a service providing health and social care appointments from home.
Near Me consultations increased from 300 consultations a week in February 2020 to over 17,000 under Clare’s guidance. Part of the work included a public engagement exercise to understand the public’s views on video consulting which received over 5000 responses – one of the largest response rates Scottish Government received that year.
Later in 2020, Clare was appointed director for Scotland at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, pharmacists’ professional leadership body. She was awarded an MBE for services to healthcare in 2018, and will receive an honorary doctorate from the University of the Highlands and Islands in November 2022 for her contribution to enhancing access to health services.
Clare said: “I am delighted to be joining Healthcare Improvement Scotland, as it is an organisation which can make a real difference to improving the lives of people across Scotland. I look forward to starting in the post, being able to hear directly from people all over the country, and helping shape the future of health and care services.”
Healthcare Improvement Scotland chief executive Robbie Pearson said: “I would like to welcome Clare Morrison to our organisation. She brings with her a wealth of experience and an understanding of engaging with the public, so we are delighted that Clare will be able to share her skills and knowledge with us, as we continue our work to improve health and care services across Scotland.”
Suzanne Dawson, chair of the Scottish Health Council, which operates as ‘Healthcare Improvement – Community Engagement’, added: “I look forward to Clare starting in her new role and am excited about how she can help shape and drive our strategic approach to ensuring meaningful public involvement activity across NHS boards and other bodies delivering healthcare in Scotland.”
Clare will take up her new post in January.
