Meet the Board: Roles and Responsibilities

Gillian has over 40 years of experience and expertise in working within the health care sector, as a registered nurse and academic teaching fellow.  Both of these aspects of her professional career have enabled her to have in-depth knowledge of the challenges that face health care provision.

Gillian's academic skills have given her the ability to be able to critically review evidence and health and social care polices in order to establish both the challenges that they present, but also the opportunities to help improve health outcomes. Gillian has a strong work ethic and works with integrity and commitment. Her work is organised, methodical and thorough. Gillian believes that the skills that she has will assist in the core work and values of NHS Western Isles.

Gillian brings to the Board a wealth of experience and knowledge of the NHS. She has strong leadership skills that will support the strategic development of the Board and help shape and deliver the health care services for NHS Western Isles.

Prior to being appointed as Chair, Gillian undertook the role of Interim Chair of Western Isles Health Board since  October 2020.

The appointment will be for four years, from 5th July 2021 to 4th July 2025.

Email: wi.chair@nhs.scot

Gordon Jamieson has been Chief Executive of NHS Western Isles since December 2008.

Gordon first came to the Western Isles in September 2006 as part of a Ministerial Support Team. He then joined NHS Western Isles in February 2008 as Nurse Director / Chief Operating Officer. His previous post was a Nurse Director / Director of Patient Safety at NHS Dumfries and Galloway.

Gordon was born and brought up in Castle Douglas in Dumfries and Galloway.

He has significant experience of working in the NHS, including almost 20 years at Executive Board level. 

Email: gordon.jamieson@nhs.scot

Colum Durkan has been Director of Public Health at NHS Western Isles since March 2024.

Colum is committed to working collaboratively, to achieve the best possible health outcomes for communities across the Western Isles.

He began his career as a dentist, and worked clinically in primary, secondary, and community care services. During this time he spent three years as a Senior Dental Officer in the Scottish Highlands. He then undertook speciality training in Public Health, throughout which he was part of the NHS Midlands Public Health team.

Colum spent the last two years working as a Consultant in Public Health in the Channel Islands, and enjoyed attending to the variety of Public Health challenges that arise in an island setting.

Email: colum.durkan@nhs.scot

Debbie Bozkurt is a CIPFA qualified accountant who had worked in Local Authority (London Borough of Sutton, Lambeth and Westminster) for 20 years, working over a number of services including Social Services, Environmental Services, Central Services and Direct Service Organisations, including working as a Transport Manager. 

Other than a brief spell working for Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd, she has worked for NHS Western Isles since 2006, first as a Contract Accountant, then as Head of Finance and Procurement. 

In 2016 she was appointed as Chief Finance Officer of the Integrated Joint Board where she was able to use her experience working both for Local Authority and the Health Board to good use.  Since 2017 she has also been the Director of Finance and Procurement for NHS Western Isles, as well as her role as Chief Finance Officer.

Email: debbie.bozkurt@nhs.scot

Frances Robertson has been Nurse and AHP Director/Chief Operating Officer since March 14 2025.

Frances has almost 30 years of nursing experience in a range of different roles. Having been born and bred on Lewis, she left in 1995 at 17 to undertake her nursing training in Aberdeen's Foresterhill College, graduating from Robert Gordon’s University in March 1998.

Frances continued to work for NHS Grampian for 15 years in a variety of nursing roles, predominately within a Surgical/ High Dependency setting, although she also spent some time working in renal medicine and the Emergency Department at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. Her last post in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary was Senior Charge Nurse in a Cardiothoracic High Dependency Unit.

Frances has also been committed to continuing her education and completed post registration qualifications at Robert Gordon’s University, Napier University and the University of the West of Scotland.

She undertook the role of Interim Lead Nurse Acute Services at NHS Western Isles in December 2021 following the retiral of her predecessor and secured the post permanently in June 2022. In 2024 she took on the role of Associate Nurse/ AHP Director and Chief Operating Officer working closely with the Executive New Nurse/AHP Director & Chief Operating Officer appointed Nurse/AHP Director and Chief
Operating Officer as well as the wider senior management team

Email: wi.nursedirector@nhs.scot

Diane MacDonald was appointed to Director of Human Resource and Workforce in January 2024.  She was previously Head of Human Resources and has worked with NHS Western Isles since 2022.  Diane has over 20 years’ experience as an HR professional working in the Public Sector in the Western Isles and was previously employed with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar.

She is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and has a BA (Hons) in Law and Management.  She has experience of working at a national and local level with partners, including partnership working with Trade Unions.

Born and brought up on the Isle of Lewis, she attended The Nicolson Institute, and is committed to delivering public services for the people of the Western Isles.

Sheena Wright, who was NHS Western Isles' Interim Nurse Director and Chief Operating Officer for a period in 2008 until 2009, spent her working life in a variety of roles within the NHS, social care, higher education and the Scottish Government. She retired in 2018 as Executive Director of Nursing & Care with NHS 24, having previously been Executive Nurse Director in NHS Borders.

In retirement, Sheena is a volunteer with the Prince’s Trust, an Independent Prison Monitor on behalf of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons and a Panel Practice Advisor with Children’s Hearings Scotland. She has a special interest in supporting the health and wellbeing of communities through the delivery of high-quality services. In her volunteering roles, she is a mentor, advocate and advisor, bringing her extensive experience to support others.

Sheena’s appointment will be for four years and runs from March 1 2021 to February 28 2025.

Julia Higginbottom is a business development and innovation producer, with a strong track record and experience previously as a filmmaker and creative producer.  

She has been a champion of Open Tech/IP/Data for 2 decades, working with government and civic technology organisations to navigate digital and IT challenges and projects. Julia will draw on her digital and transformation skills and experience in this role.  She moved to the Western Isles in August 2019 as a new entrant crofter. Julia is driven by a passion to connect communities. 

Professor Annetta Smith (Emerita) is the former Head of Department of Nursing and Midwifery at the University of the Highlands and Islands and has held various senior positions at the School of Health Sciences and Sport at the University of Stirling.  

She is a registered nurse and nurse teacher with experience of international work including collaborations with educators and health researchers in India. She is an experienced post graduate supervisor and supervises students undertaking Clinical Doctorates and PhD’s.

Her health research spans remote and rural healthcare, and research with older people with sight and hearing impairment that includes evaluative research around service access and experiences of using community pharmacy services and management of the pharmaceutical journey.  

Prof Smith has a strong health professional regulatory background and was professional regulation lead for Council of Deans for Health Scotland and a member of the UK Council of Deans regulation advisory group. 

Paul joined the Board after being nominated as the Local Authority Representative in December 2022. He was a Member of the Integration Joint Board from 2017 to 2022 and served on the IJB Audit Committee and the Uist and Barra Locality Planning Groups.

He has been a Councillor since 2017 and currently represents the South Uist, Eriskay and Benbecula Ward. He was elected Leader of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar in May 2022 having previously served as Vice-Chair of the Communities and Housing Committee and as Chair of the Education, Sport and Children’s Services Committee.

Paul was born and brought up in South Uist where he lives with his young family. He studied and worked in the media industry on the mainland for a number of years before returning home where he has been actively involved in his community through youth work, tourism, sports and a wide range of other community activities with a strong ethos of public service.

Karen France MacLeod was appointed to the Western Isles Health Board in April 2023 and hold the position of Chair of the Area Clinical Forum.

Karen is a Dietitian, registered with The Health and Care Professional Council (HCPC).  She was born and brought up on the Isle of Lewis and returned to the Island to work in 2004, following starting career with the NHS in Durham and then Havering.

In returning to the Island in 2004, Karen joined the Nutrition & Dietetic Department at the Western Isles Hospital as a Dietetic Specialist Practitioner in Obesity with providing support to paediatric dietetics, before taking on the role of Nutrition and Dietetic Manager in 2007.  

Naomi Macdonald is an experienced children and young people’s practitioner, with previous experience working within the local third sector, primarily within Outer Hebrides Alcohol and Drug Partnership funded services.

She is currently leading on the delivery of the Young Islanders Network, ensuring that young people from the islands are heard and included meaningfully in the decisions on their future within all the inhabited Scottish Islands; working closely with a wide variety of stakeholders and organisations across sectors to support young people to be heard and informed.

Naomi is passionate about ensuring that services in the islands meet the needs of islanders of all ages and that they can be, as best as possible, shaped around the needs of the patients and service users.

She is keen to ensure that many job opportunities on the islands continues to grow and that pathways into employment can continue to be offered locally, to improve the sustainability and continuation of the services on offer for the future.

Paul Macaskill was born in Stornoway and has lived and worked in Stornoway for over 30 years.

He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy CIPFA), in addition to being a Chartered Auditor. Paul is currently the Chief Internal Auditor for Argyll and Bute Council, its Integration Joint Board, Leisure Trust and continues to work remotely from Stornoway.

He has extensive experience working in the public sector, both in finance and audit, with current responsibilities including strategic and operational audit across three independent bodies, risk management and the Counter Fraud Team for the local authority.

Paul is an ardent promoter of the public sector model for the delivery of local services and the positive impacts it can have on the communities it serves.