Nurse chief executive moving health boards
A nurse has been appointed to the post of chief executive of NHS Lothian.
Professor Caroline Hiscox will take up the role later this year following the retirement of the health board’s current chief executive, Calum Campbell.
“These are challenging times for the NHS”
Caroline Hiscox
Registering as an adult nurse in 1994, Professor Hiscox progressed to nurse director roles before being appointed as chief executive of NHS Grampian in November 2020.
Since December 2023, she has been seconded to NHS Tayside in the role of interim chief executive.
Commenting on her new appointment, Professor Hiscox said “These are challenging times for the NHS but I believe that by working together we achieve great things.
“I am delighted to be joining NHS Lothian whose teams already deliver the highest quality treatment and care.
“I look forward to working with them to explore new ways to transform services against a backdrop of rising demand.
“Our goal is to ensure that quality is maintained sustainably as we strive to further reduce health inequalities, improve outcomes for patients and maintain joy in our work.”
Alongside her clinical and leadership roles in NHS Scotland, Professor Hiscox has also had an academic career.
She has a doctorate in nursing and is an honorary professor of the University of Aberdeen Business School, the University of Stirling School of Nursing and Robert Gordon University.
NHS Lothian chair John Connaghan welcomed Professor Hiscox’s appointment.
He said: “Caroline is a highly respected board chief executive in NHS Scotland, with an impressive track-record in strategic and system leadership and a real focus on improving experiences for patients and staff.
“We look forward to working with her to build on the existing great work of our teams.”
Mr Campbell will retire as NHS Lothian chief executive at the end of May.
His current deputy, Jim Crombie, will lead as interim chief executive until Professor Hiscox takes up her new role later in the summer.
