Steering Group
Our Steering Group
The NoSPHN Steering Group guides the work of NoSPHN. The group meets each month including an extended business meeting every quarter – all meetings are conducted virtually. NoSPHN is accountable to the Chief Executives of each of the North of Scotland Boards through the North of Scotland planning arrangements.
Membership of the Group:
- Directors of Public Health (DsPH) for each of the 6 North of Scotland Health Boards
- Leads and Members of the active working groups of NoSPHN
- NoSPHN Programme Manager
The Chair (Lead) of the Steering Group is rotated every 2-3 years between each of the North NHS Boards.
The aim of NosPHN is to bring people working in public health across North of Scotland together to plan and deliver activities, projects and programmes at the regional level to improve population health, where it makes sense and adds value to do this.
- To support the North of Scotland Directors of Public Health to develop a shared regional vision for public health
- Undertake pieces of work to deliver on regional priorities
- Connect public health practitioners and specialists to share knowledge, exchange information and co-ordinate public health activity
- Promote and support remote, rural and island sensitive practice to improve population health
Our Steering Group Members
Dr Tim Allison
Director of Public Health, NHS Highland
NoSPHN Chair
Tim became DPH of NHS Highland in July 2020, previously the DPH with East Riding of Yorkshire. He has worked in both local government and the NHS and was a former honorary secretary of the Association of Directors of Public Health (UK). Tim has worked in epidemiological research and as a hospital doctor. He studied medicine in Cardiff and Cambridge where he also studied Anglo-Saxon Norse and Celtic. His professional interests include musculoskeletal disease, coastal health and physical activity.
Dr Susan Laidlaw
Director of Public Health, NHS Shetland
NoSPHN Vice Chair
Susan qualified from University of Edinburgh Medical School in 1991, working in Scotland, North East England and Portsmouth until 1998, primarily in Mental Health Services. She then moved into Public Health Medicine, initially training in Sunderland and at Newcastle University before moving to Shetland in 2002, becoming a consultant five years later and then Director of Public Health in 2022. Susan is also the Realistic Medicine Lead for NHS Shetland.
Dr Emma Fletcher
Director of Public Health, NHS Tayside
Emma grew up in Dundee before moving to Newcastle to study medicine and working initially in Acute Medicine and Care of the Elderly. On completing a PhD and gaining in-depth experience in statistics, she was keen to pursue a more preventative and early intervention approach to achieving improved health outcomes at scale. Emma moved back north and became DPH of NHS Tayside in November 2020 and is also the Board’s Sustainability Champion and Baby Friendly Guardian.
Dr Louise Wilson
Director of Public Health, NHS Orkney
Louise initially trained in paediatric medicine and worked internationally in America, Australia and New Zealand before returning to Scotland to work as a consultant in paediatric intensive care. She then trained in public health medicine and is now the Director of Public Health with NHS Orkney. She is an executive member of the European Rural and Isolated Practitioners Association and enjoys working and living by the sea.
Dr Maggie Watts
Director of Public Health, NHS Western Isles
Maggie Watts, NHS Western Isles Director of Public Health retired in August 2023. A recruitment process is underway to appoint a new DPH.
Susan Webb
Director of Public Health, NHS Grampian
Susan trained as an Allied Health Professional working in acute and community settings before starting a career in Public Health. She has undertaken a number of roles in Public Health in health improvement, health intelligence and service planning before becoming the Deputy Director of Public Health in 2000 and Director of Public Health in 2016. Susan is actively involved with a range of academic and service partnerships in the North East through which she strives to improve outcomes for children and their families.
Kim Penman
NoSPHN Programme Manager
As NoSPHN Programme Manager Kim is the operational lead for the network. Starting her public health career in London, she moved to Scotland where she has worked in various health improvement roles in the North East. She has over 25 years of experience working in Health and Social Care Partnership, NHS and local authority sectors, delivering quality services and programmes and providing strategic leadership within a multi-agency environment for public health improvement.