NHS Board

Non-Executive Member

Lesley-Ann McDonald became a member of the Board on 1st July 2024.

Lesley-Ann graduated from Glasgow University in 1989 and worked in private practice in Glasgow before moving to the public sector as a solicitor for the then Comhairle nan Eilean in 1993. During her career in the Western Isles, she acquired further skills in governance, corporate policy and community planning and was involved in the establishment of health and social care partnerships.

Since retiring in 2018 Lesley-Ann has volunteered with Clydesdale Foodbank and has been a Board member of Clydesdale Housing Association since 2022. In these roles she has gained insight to the difficulties faced by the most vulnerable in society as well as the impact of positive interventions such as the provision of good quality affordable housing.

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Non-Executive Board Member

Cath Cooney is appointed as a non-executive board member from 1st July 2024 until 30th June 2028.

Cath brings many years of experience from senior programme and policy leadership roles across the public sector, public health, inequalities-sensitive practice, health and social care, as well as the voluntary sector in Scotland and the UK. 

From her first role as an NHS Medical Laboratory Scientist, she has since held leadership positions across the NHS, and community and third sectors with a particular focus on working in partnership to address the causes and consequences of inequalities, fostering community and stakeholder engagement, and strengthening the voice of lived experience. 

She recently completed her term as a member of the Advisory Board for Safer Gambling of Great Britain with a focus on public health and lived experience-informed approaches to addressing gambling harms.

Cath currently works independently in supporting leadership development and strengthening capabilities in systems change. 

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Non-Executive Member

Brian Auld became a member of the Board on 1st July 2024.

Brian is a Chartered Environmental Health Officer and registered safety professional, and is currently Head of Health, Safety and Sustainability at Scottish Canals. He brings over 20 years’ regulatory, enforcement, and assurance experience gained within the public and third sectors across different industries in Scotland.

Brian was one of the first Inspectors appointed during the creation of the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate (HEI) and was responsible for the inspection of NHS services and the regulation of private healthcare. He is the former Director of Professional Development with the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland (REHIS) and Head of Safety, Risk and Compliance with the Church of Scotland General Trustees.

Brian is passionate about continuous improvement, organisational governance and risk management and looks forward to bringing his experience to Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board as the Whistleblowing Champion member.

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Non-Executive Member

Martin Cawley became a member of the Board on 1st July 2024.

Martin has worked in the health and social care sector for around 40 years. A learning disability nurse by profession, Martin worked in the NHS for the earlier part of his career before joining the third sector.

Martin has held senior positions in the voluntary sector as Director of Services with Quarriers and spent eight years as CEO of Turning Point Scotland. He also spent three years as Director for Scotland at the National Lottery Community Fund.

In his most recent role, Martin was CEO of Beatson Cancer Charity for five years. During his career he has held a number of non-executive roles and been involved in various national working groups and umbrella organisations.

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Chair

Biography

Dr Lesley Thomson KC joined NHSGGC from NHS Lanarkshire where she served on the Board for 5 years as a Non-Executive Director and Vice Chair.

Lesley had a long career in Law and was the Solicitor General for Scotland from 2011 to 2016. Prior to that, she worked as a Procurator Fiscal in many locations across Scotland including serving as Area Procurator Fiscal in Glasgow. In 2016 she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law by the University of Glasgow.

Lesley’s previous Non-Executive career includes sport on the Board at Scottish Rugby and Education as a Lay Governor at Glasgow Caledonian University.

Her other former roles include Commissioner of the Northern Lighthouse Board and member of the BBC audience council.

Lesley has wide ranging experience of strategy development, leadership and collaborative working with partners across the public and third sectors. She is committed to putting people at the heart of the NHS and contributing to improving lives in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area.

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Non-Executive Member

Biography

Dr Becky Metcalfe is a Consultant in Sexual Health & HIV Medicine and has worked for NHS GGC since 2007, bringing a wealth of frontline clinical experience to the Board.

Becky is passionate about improving health inequalities and is an expert in HIV prevention and management in women, people who inject drugs and those who experience homelessness. She has experience in leading service redesign to improve the quality of clinical services delivered across NHSGGC and will continue to champion this in her new role.

Becky also has medical management experience and is enthusiastic about upholding the Board corporate objectives including, ‘Better Workplace’. She was elected to a trustee role on the British HIV Association (BHIVA) Executive Committee in 2020.

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As a data controller NHSGGC are required under Article 35(1) of the UKGDPR to complete a data protection impact assessment for all processing which may result in a high risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals. This may include e.g. the use of new technologies, the processing of high volumes of special category data or data processing involving data from vulnerable groups. The table below provides a summary of the most recent data protection impact assessments we have completed.

Completed Data Protection Impact Assessments

On appointment, Non-Executive Board members are issued with an induction pack, containing information useful for new colleagues about NHSGGC’s governance structures, details on existing Board members and their biographies. The pack will also include further helpful information to assist our Non-Executive Board members to settle into their role.

All Board members undergo an induction programme, completing a series of introductory meetings with key personnel across the organisation.

They will also be assigned a ‘buddy’ from our existing Non-Executive Board member group who will offer support and guidance while bedding into their exciting new role within the organisation. NHS Scotland also support the induction of new Board Members NHS Scotland – Induction Approach – What Non-Executives can expect from Board Induction.

The personal development needs of individual Board Members is also supported by NHS Education Scotland Board Development | Turas. New Board Members are required to register on TURAS and should make full use of this resource.

The induction programme also requires Board Members to familiarise themselves with the key documents that explain who we are, what we do and how we work together to deliver our roles and responsibilities.

These documents are listed below.

Useful Resources for Board Members

• Model Code of Conduct for NHSGGC Board Members
• NHS Scotland – Induction Approach – What Non-Executives can expect from Board Induction
• Auditor General – What is Integration April 2018
• NHSGGC Board Papers
• Your HSCP

Further Information for Board Members

Non-Executive Member

Biography

Mehvish Ashraf MRPharmS is a community pharmacist who brings a wealth of patient facing and management expertise to the Board. Having served for over a decade in some of the most deprived areas in and around Glasgow, she has a deep understanding of health inequalities. In particular, ethnic minority communities and supporting those with addictions.

Mehvish has worked at the Head Office of an independent chain of pharmacies spread across Scotland.

She also served as an Associate Member of Community Pharmacy Scotland (CPS) Lanarkshire Committee and is a Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

Ms Ashraf’s appointment is for four years, from 9th January 2023 to 8th January 2027.

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Non-Executive Member

Biography

Councillor Katie Pragnell is appointed as a non-executive board member from 4th July 2022 until 30th April 2027.

Katie was elected to East Renfrewshire Council in May 2022 and was appointed as Social Work and Health Convener and East Renfrewshire’s representative on the board.  

Katie graduated from the Open University with a BA (Honours) in History. She has worked in the political sphere for MPs and MSPs, in both research and caseworker roles. She has also worked in the third sector in policy and research roles.  

As someone living with a disability, Katie has a keen interest in promoting disability rights and inclusion.  

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