Jason Leitch will leave the post at the end of April.
Professor Jason Leitch will leave his role as National Clinical
Director at the end of April.
Arrangements for the post will be set out in due course.
Professor Leitch said:
“It has been an enormous privilege to carry out this role and
work closely with colleagues across the health and care sector in
service of the patients, their families and carers. The NHS and
social care system does remarkable work every day, and I am
immensely proud of the teams I have had the privilege of being
part of.
“The ongoing success of the Scottish Patient Safety
Programme is globally recognised and has significantly
improved the safety and reliability of care in many ways. The
Covid pandemic was an unprecedented challenge for all countries
and I am proud of my colleagues inside and outside Government for
their incredible work. It was a privilege to be able to
communicate with the public so directly and be part of that
co-ordinated response, and I will forever be grateful for the
public’s attention and willingness to follow the guidance - it
saved lives. I have decided to look for new challenges across
health and care after a break, and to spend more time with the
charities I work with. I wish colleagues well for the future.”
First Minister said:
“Jason Leitch has made a fantastic contribution to the health of
the nation, leading work to reduce hospital acquired infections
and improve the quality of care in the NHS. The enduring success
of the Scottish Patient Safety Programme is testament to his
work. He played a huge role in helping me and fellow Ministers
navigate the Covid pandemic by providing advice to help reach the
best decisions, and by communicating so well with the public. I
of course wish him every success in the future.”
Background
Professor Leitch will also leave his post at NHS Tayside at the
end of April. He is employed on standard NHS Consultant terms and
conditions by NHS Tayside and works full time for the Scottish
Government under a Service Level Agreement. This is a typical
arrangement through which the Scottish Government draws in
specialist knowledge from the NHS. Professor Leitch does not
receive another salary or pension on top of his NHS Tayside
contract, nor will he receive any additional remuneration upon
leaving.
Jason Leitch has worked for the Scottish Government since 2007
and was appointed as National Clinical Director in the Health and
Social Care Directorate in January 2015. Prior to his Government
role he was an oral surgery Consultant in NHS Greater Glasgow and
Clyde. He is an Honorary Professor at the University of Dundee
and a Visiting Professor at the University of Strathclyde. He was
awarded a CBE in the 2019 Birthday Honours. He is also a Board
member of two large international charities, the Nazareth Trust
which runs a hospital and nursing school in Northern Israel and
the Indian Rural Evangelical Fellowship which runs an orphanage,
college and nursing school in rural south-east India.
