These commentaries by John Macgill represent his opinions only and not those of any Ettrickburn client.

Scotland’s NHS and social care app timeline unveiled

Health Secretary commits to kidney action

Scots kidney disease patients urge politicians to act

NRS-CSO conference programme announced

Rare condition screening for newborns across Scotland

Scientists to help cut NHS medical device waste

Pharmacies campaign to lead weight loss service

Government to review user voices on IJBs

AI for lung cancer care to help tackle “hidden killer”

Scotland falling behind on lung cancer screening

Charity campaigner to head up Public Health Scotland

Scots urged to show Yellow Card to meds side effects

Scotland’s new Chief Nurse appointed

Pharmacists urge leaders to act for the profession

Children’s doctor new Chief Scientific Adviser

Struggling health board appoints new leader

NHS waits pushing more patients private

Government to merge two national NHS boards

King honours Scots in health, care and science

Health board escalated over deepening financial risk

Call for ‘new way’ to assess dementia drugs

First Minster pledges people will see GP sooner

Views sought on unified long term conditions approach

GPs to tackle hidden risks of heart disease

Fears new Boots owner will walk

Scots living with liver disease set to rise by 54%

Scotland’s first senior heart pharmacist appointed

NHS Scotland relying on older diagnostic kit

New steps for pharmacists to access patient records

Gene study helps islanders prevent disease

Government boosts health innovation funding

Labour: We’ll fix the NHS, starting with GPs

Analysis: abolishing non-residential care charges

New Alzheimer’s drug rejected for NHS Scotland

Livingston-made vaccine gets UK green light

Current metrics fail to capture full NHS activity

First Minister unveils NHS renewal plans

National Care Service plans scrapped

Highland GPs to reclaim vaccine services

NHS Lanarkshire appoints new leader

Less than half NHS PFI bill has been settled

Care sector criticises ‘budget that kills’

Briefing: Health and care in the Scottish budget

Watchdog: action needed now on NHS reform

Major shake-up in NHS service planning

Report spotlights drug shortage crisis

Scottish GPs to be asked about future strike action

Digital health: short-term cuts, long-term setbacks

AI in NHS Scotland is here – but the leaders aren’t

Councils walk away from National Care Service

GPs told not to prescribe hundreds of items

Social workers warn of harm from care power row

Thousandth patient receives TAVI heart treatment

New nurses and midwives left jobless by NHS cuts

Partnership to plough millions into NHS research

Chief medic: Innovate to tackle health & planet crises

New ‘clue’ to treating arthritis and severe COVID

NHS reform to dilute some board boundaries

Harnessing a parasite to take drugs into the brain

Kidney disease focus of new research partnership

‘Unprecedented’ crisis in community health and care

NHS Scotland unveils plan to cut plastic packaging

Scottish government consults on medicines blacklist

RSV vaccine rollout for Scotland to launch in August

Protecting public health through pathogen genomics

The new MPs with backgrounds in health and care

Scots honoured in health, care and life sciences

GPs in ‘moral distress’ over drug shortage crisis

Genetic data offer new routes to fight breast cancer

Workforce and public to inform NHS reform

A third of positive bowel tests not followed up

‘The time for a care revolution is now’

Fast-track NHS training centre opens

MSPs to question kidney disease priority status

UK joins forces to combat antimicrobial resistance

Government urged to make lung health a priority

Glasgow celebrates medical research recovery

Cancer workforce “not going in right trajectory”

Professor calls to end cancer medicine funding lottery

New service to bolster Scotland’s health research

Charity: ‘Asthma care is in crisis’

Council to take all care at home services in-house

Rapid cancer diagnostic network improves outcomes

NHS receives extra cash from medicines scheme

Health boards to soon accrue £380m in lifeline loans

NHS chief execs agree 15-point plan to cut costs

Cancer outcomes worse for rural patients

Scottish health research collaboration extended

Making cervical cancer a ‘rare disease’

Surveys to shape access to liver services launched

Edinburgh team seek new insights into MS progression

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Biomarkers can improve melanoma patient care

The King honours Scots in health, care and science

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Government abandons plan to create care boards

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‘Substantial’ impact of domestic abuse on brain

Being bad at healthcare innovation ‘is a choice’

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50 years ‘just the beginning’ says Chief Scientist

Women more severely affected by ME

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Scottish health tech firm launches $2m clinical trial

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Call for preventative healthcare targets

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£20m pharmacy cash injection small amid rising costs

Scotland commits to change the dementia story

Community Pharmacy rejects funding deal

Microwaves offer less invasive cervical cancer therapy

AI for early heart attack diagnosis

Expanding hospital at home services

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Funding boost for hepatology research

Advice for devices seminar

Big data: closing the endometriosis knowledge gap

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Joint pharmacy project cuts adverse events

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‘Miracle’ patient to help create new CHD guidelines

NHS boards’ ‘unprecedented’ budget challenges

Digital health: This is the moment

News Release Call to embed genomic testing for every cancer patient in Scotland

RPS Scotland director moves to HIS

HealthTech losing faith in UK market?

NHS struggling to find vaccination centres

Pharmacy and medicines: Flourishing in Fife

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Repurposed drug for MND

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Ettrickburn commentary - Labour's plans to radically shake-up the pharma industry (part 2)

Ettrickburn commentary - Labour's plans to radically shake-up the pharma industry (part 1)

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18 January 2025: NHS Lanarkshire appoints new leader

This report was first published on healthandcare.scot

The chief executive of Inverclyde Council has been appointed as the new leader of NHS Lanarkshire.

Louise Long will take up her new role on 5 May 2025.

She will replace Professor Jann Gardner, who moves across to head up NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde from February.

NHS Lanarkshire’s deputy chief executive Colin Lauder will act as interim CEO in the meantime.

Martin Hill, chair of the NHS board, said he is “absolutely delighted” to have appointed Louise Long as the new chief executive:

“Louise is a dynamic leader who has the skills and passion to continue to develop and drive our innovative plans to reform our health services and provide the best possible care for the people of Lanarkshire.

“She has a fantastic track record as a senior leader in health and social care and as well as high-level leadership experience as Inverclyde Council’s Chief Executive.

“Louise shone throughout our comprehensive recruitment process as the right person to take us forward on the next stage of our transformation journey. We look forward to welcoming Louise to her new role.”

A qualified social worker, Ms Long has spent three decades working in the public sector.

This includes a stint as the chief officer for Inverclyde Integration Joint Board where she led the authority-wide response to the pandemic, before she became the first female chief executive of Inverclyde council in September 2021.

She was recognised for her services to both local government and the community of Inverclyde in 2023, being made a Member of the British Empire (MBE) in the King’s New Year’s Honours List.

Ms Long said of her appointment:

“I am excited to be joining NHS Lanarkshire as their new Chief Executive at a time of real transformation within the health service.

“There are fewer challenges greater than health and social care, and I am grateful for the opportunity make a positive difference in this area.

“NHS Lanarkshire has a committed and dedicated workforce with a real spirit of innovation in its approach to improving services.

“I am looking forward to meeting colleagues and working with them to deliver for our communities.”