NHS Forth Valley: New nurse director is Scottish Ambulance Service's Professor Frances Dodd

Professor Frances Dodd has been appointed NHS Forth Valley executive nurse director.

She takes over from Professor Angela Wallace who left earlier this year to take up the post of nurse director with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Professor Dodd comes from the Scottish Ambulance Service where she is director of care quality and professional development.

She began her nursing career NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde where she trained as a registered nurse at the Victoria Infirmary and spent the majority of her clinical career within the surgery and post-operative departments.

She then moved to NHS Lanarkshire where she held a number of senior and nurse management roles, including senior nurse for medicine and anaesthetics, associate nurse director for surgery and critical care and associate nurse director for primary care before becoming the director of nursing for acute services.

Cathie Cowan, NHS Forth Valley chief executive, said: “I am delighted that Frances will be joining us as our new nurse director and I, along with colleagues across the organisation, look forward to working with her to lead, develop and support local nursing and midwifery staff across NHS Forth Valley.

“Frances brings with her extensive experience across pre-hospital, acute and primary care services which will be invaluable as we continue to recover from the pandemic and drive forward a number of important service developments to further improve the care of local people.”

Professor Dodd said: “I am delighted to be joining NHS Forth Valley as their new nurse irector and look forward to working with nursing and midwifery colleagues across the organisation to build on the excellent work that they are doing so far.

“Improving the care and experience of local people will be a key priority and I am committed to listening and using patient feedback to drive forward changes.”