Reappointment of Chair and Four Non-Executive Members to the Business Services Organisation

Date published: 15 December 2020

Health Minister Robin Swann, has announced the reappointment of the Non-Executive Chair and four Non-Executive Lay Members to the Business Services Organisation (BSO).

public appointments web2

Mrs Julie Erskine has been reappointed as Non-Executive Chair from 1 December 2020 to 30 November 2024.   The Non-Executive Lay Members reappointed are as follows:  Mr Robert Bannon and Professor Dorothy Whittington from 1 December 2020 to 30 November 2024; Miss Patricia Gordon from 12 December 2020 to 11 December 2024; and Mr Mark Campbell from 9 January 2021 to 8 January 2025.

These appointments were made in accordance with the Code of Practice issued by the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland.

The Non-Executive Chair role attracts an annual remuneration of £23,352 and carries a time commitment of 2 days per week. The Non-Executive Member positions attract remuneration of £5,621 per annum and carry a time commitment of 3 days per month.

The BSO provides a broad range of regional business support functions and specialist professional services to the health and social care sector in Northern Ireland.

The membership of the BSO Board comprises four Executive positions including the Chief Executive; a Non-Executive Chair and eight Non-Executive Members.  

Notes to editors: 

  1. Mrs Erskine was appointed as the BSO Non-Executive Chair in December 2016.  She has previously held a number of Non-Executive positions, for example the Probation Board Northern Ireland, Public Health Agency, Committee member of the Northern Ireland Social Care Council, Committee Member Northern Ireland Local Government Superannuation Scheme, Audit Committee Member for the Commissioner for Older People, and the Commissioner for Children and Young People. Mrs Erskine has worked in the Healthcare Sector for over 35 years; this has included the Private, Public and Voluntary Sector.
  1. Mr Bannon has spent almost 30 years in the Insurance Industry gaining extensive experience in Sales, Resource and Administration Management, Strategic Planning, Business Development and Budget Management.  In recent years, Robert has successfully developed his own consultancy practice specialising in human resource management, organisational development, coaching, mentoring, recruitment and selection.  Mr Bannon is currently a Lay Representative with Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency.
  1. Professor Whittington is Emeritus Professor of Health Psychology in the University of Ulster.  She has published extensively on communication, social skill and quality assurance in health care and other contexts.  She has held executive and non-executive board level posts in the Higher Education Academy, in North Bristol NHS Acute Care Trust and in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland.  Until 2020 she was an Education Associate of the General Pharmaceutical Council and acted as a lay member of the Council’s panel for the accreditation of University courses leading to qualification in Pharmacy. 
  1. Miss Gordon has had a career in the health and social care sector in Northern Ireland where she worked in strategic planning, information and general management roles. She was Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Mater Hospital Trust from 1995-2003 and CEO of the South and East Belfast Trust from 2003-2007.  From 2008 - 2018 she was the Northern Ireland Director for the Multiple Sclerosis Society.  Miss Gordon has served as a member of the Governing Body of Queen’s University Belfast; a member of the Business in Community Board; and as a Non-Executive Director in the Northern Ireland Prison Service. She is currently a lay member of the HM Courts and Tribunals service -Tax Tribunal, a member of the Board of Governors at Strathearn School, and an Associate Consultant with the HSC Leadership Centre.  Miss Gordon holds one other current public appointment as the Northern Ireland member of the NHS Pay Review Body, appointed on the 1 November 2016 by the Secretary of State for Health, and reappointed from April 2020 to July 2023. The time commitment for this position is circa 16 days a year with a £300 per diem rate.
  2. Mr Campbell is a qualified social worker having worked in child protection and mental health as an Approved Social Worker. He established, led and managed the Psychiatry of Old Age Team in North Down and Ards implementing Community Care reforms before managing and developing dementia services in Newry and South Armagh.  Mr Campbell was an inspector of care services with the Eastern Health and Social Services Board and the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority from 2001 – 2012. He was then appointed Head of Care Regulation and Inspection by the Isle of Man Government, and designed and implemented a risk-based proportionate model of health and social care regulation.  He holds an MBA in Health and Social Care Management, an Advanced Award in Social Work and a Master of Laws (Human Rights and Criminal Justice QUB) obtained in 2019.  In 2015 Mr Campbell was appointed to judicial office as an Experienced Member with the Review Tribunal, and in 2019 was appointed as an Adjudicator with the Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel. Mr Campbell was a Council Member with Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland from 2016 to 2020.
  1. Appointments to the BSO are made with the approval of the Health Minister.
  2. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland requires the political activity of appointees to be published.  All the appointees declared that they have not engaged in any political activity in the last five years.
  3. For media enquiries please contact the DoH Press Office by email: pressoffice@health-ni.gov.uk.
  4. Follow us on twitter @healthdpt
  5. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.

Share this page

Back to top