NHSWI appoints new Nurse/AHP Director and Chief Operating Officer

Mr. William Findlay has this week started in post as Nurse/AHP Director and Chief Operating Officer at NHS Western Isles as current Nurse Director Mrs Chrisanne Campbell takes retirement.

Speaking of his new role, Mr Findlay said: “It is lovely to be here on the Western Isles, I’ve been made feel very welcome and thank everyone for that, I’m very much looking forward to working with all of the teams recognizing that Chrisanne leaves me very big shoes to fill.”

William has an extensive educational and career journey; he graduated from the University of Stirling with a BScN, RN (Adult) and since worked at Glasgow Royal Infirmary and Stirling Royal Infirmary in Cardiac and Critical Care.  

In 2007 William moved to Vancouver, Canada and held clinical leadership positions before moving into management and then executive leadership. Briefly, William moved into the private sector and held a Professional Conduct Review Consultant post with the regulatory body for Nursing in British Columbia. 

In 2013, William completed a law degree (LL.M) which, with his strong clinical background, led him to the position of Director of Client Relations, Risk Management and Patient Care Quality Office at Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH).  In 2016 he also assumed the Interim Operations Director of the Central Coast (Bella Bella, Bella Coola), which then became a permanent part of his portfolio.

William has a proven track record of improving outcomes and providing strong leadership around remote and rural communities to facilitate ‘closer to home access’ through telemedicine, partnerships with First Nations and other stakeholders, and development of a more sustainable human resource model.  William has worked both provincially and nationally government committees such as; Rural Patient Transport and Emergency Management on Managing Wild Fires.   

Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) benefited tremendously from Williams knowledge, experience and patient/client focus in his other role of Director, Risk Management and Client Relations.

William provided support to physicians, staff, frontline leaders and senior leadership at VCH to manage critical events and work with partners in Quality, Practice and Education to improve outcomes in many communities.

Commenting on Mr Findlay’s appointment with NHS Western Isles, NHSWI Chief Executive, Gordon Jamieson, said: “I am delighted to welcome William back to Scotland, our organisation, and wider community and look forward to both benefitting from his knowledge, experience and leadership.”