Ross McGuffie, who is currently the Chief Officer of Health and Social Care in North Lanarkshire, has been appointed as the new Chief Executive for NHS Forth Valley.

Ross has extensive experience of planning and managing a wide range of health and social care services and a strong track record of delivering changes to improve service performance and achieve better outcomes for patients.

Starting his NHS career within health improvement, Ross then moved on to become a locality service manager with responsibility for community health services in NHS Lanarkshire. He then took on the role as Head of Planning, Performance and Quality Assurance for North Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership before being appointed as the Partnership’s Chief Officer in 2018.

Ross has also undertaken a number of key national roles and was recently elected as the Chair of Health and Social Care Scotland, a national network of senior leaders which aims to drive forward improvements in health and wellbeing through increased integration, collaboration and transformation.

Announcing the appointment, Neena Mahal, Interim Chair of NHS Forth Valley, said, “Following a rigorous recruitment process, I am delighted that Ross will be joining NHS Forth Valley as our new Chief Executive and I would like to congratulate him on behalf the Board. Ross has a proven track record in transforming services and brings extensive skills, knowledge and experience of system leadership to this important role. We look forward to Ross joining us to build on the excellent work which is underway in NHS Forth Valley.”

Commenting on his new role, Ross said, “I am delighted to be joining NHS Forth Valley as its new Chief Executive and I’m very much looking forward to meeting with local staff, colleagues and partners across the health and care system as well as getting to know local communities.

“Although it is a very challenging time for healthcare services across the country, I know a lot of good work is already underway to address these challenges and I’m keen to build on this and identify further opportunities to improve the health and wellbeing of local people.”

Ross McGuffie will take up post in Autumn 2024, taking over from Amanda Croft who is currently covering the role on an interim basis.