The Department of Health today announced extensions to the terms of appointment of the Non-Executive Chair and three Non-Executive Members of the Patient and Client Council (PCC) Board.
The extensions are:
Professor Maureen Edmondson - Non-Executive Chair for a maximum of 6 months from 1 October 2018.
Professor Hugh McKenna - Non-Executive Member for a maximum of 6 months from 1 October 2018.
Dr May McCann - Non-Executive Member for a maximum of 6 months from 1 October 2018.
Mr Brain Compston - Non-Executive Member for a maximum of 6 months from 1 October 2018.
There are no specific qualifications required for these appointments.
The Non-Executive Chair of the Patient and Client Council receives an annual remuneration of £16,832 for a time commitment of 1.5 days per week. Non-Executive members of the Patient and Client Council receive annual remunerations of £3,601 for a time commitment of 2 days per month.
The PCC, which is established under Section 16(1) of the Health and Social Care (Reform) Act (Northern Ireland) 2009, is a regional body supported by five local offices operating within the same geographical areas covered by the five HSC Trusts and LCGs. The overarching objective of the PCC is to provide a powerful, independent voice for patients, clients, carers, and communities on health and social care issues.
The appointments were made in accordance with the Code of Practice issued by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
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 (if any declared) to be published. All appointees declared that they had not engaged in any political activity in the last five years.
Notes to editors:
- Professor Maureen Edmondson, OBE, BSc, PhD, FIFST, CSi, FECSS lives in Portaferry. She served six years as the Chair of the Northern Ireland Food Advisory Committee and as Northern Ireland Member of the Food Standards Agency Board. She is a Trustee of the Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST) and immediate Past President of IFST. Professor Edmondson is Chair of the Ofcom Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland and of the Board of Governors of Edgehill Theological College. She is a visiting Professor in the University of Ulster School of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences. Professor Edmondson was first appointed to the Patient and Client Council on 7th March 2011.
- Professor Hugh P. McKenna CBE, PhD, B.Sc(Hons), RMN, RGN, RNT, DipN(Lond), AdvDipEd, FFN RCSI, FEANS, FRCN, FAAN He is Dean of Medical School Development at Ulster University. He has over 250 publications including 12 books. He is a fellow of the Royal College of Nursing (FRCN), Fellow of the European Academy of Nursing (FEAN) and Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland, (FRCSI). In 2008, her Majesty the Queen appointed him Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for his work on health and community. In 2013, he was presented the Outstanding Achievement Award by the Royal College of Nursing and in 2014 with a lifetime achievement Award at the Institute of Psychiatry in London. In 2009, he became a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing – only the third person in Europe and the fifteenth worldwide to be given this honour. He was recently identified as one of the 70 most influential nurses in the 70 year history of the NHS. He is Chair of a UK Research Panel that allocates funding to university research in health disciplines. Currently, he is an Adjunct/Visiting Professor in universities in Slovenia and Australia and is Head of the Visiting Committee at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His interests include patients as co-producers of research, suicide prevention, and the health care workforce.
- Dr May McCann lives in Belfast. Until early retirement she lectured in Social Anthropology at QUB. She subsequently worked in the voluntary and community sector, in education, research and policy work, initially in the women's sector and more recently in the area of mental health. Her research interests include Irish culture, gender, equality and 'involvement and co-production'. She is a current member, and previous Chair, of the Bamford Monitoring Group, the service user and carer group moving towards the effective implementation of the recommendations of the Bamford Review of Mental Health and Learning Disability. Dr McCann is involved as a carer in a range of mental health bodies within the Department of Health, the Health and Social Care Board, the Public Health Agency, the Belfast HSC Trust and professional and educational sectors. She sits on the board of Cause, a regional charity providing peer support and advocacy to mental health carers, having served a six year period as Chair. She was recently appointed to the Special Committee on Human Rights in the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
- Mr Brian Compston lives in Belfast. He was formerly Southern Area Manager, Business in the Community and former Head of Domestic Marketing, NIE plc. He was previously a Trustee Board Member of Citizens Advice NI until December 2016 and was formerly a member on the Eastern Health and Social Services Council until 31 March 2009. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Mr Compston holds no other public appointments.
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