LifeCare Edinburgh has appointed Beverley Francis as its new chair and welcomes four new trustees to the board as the organisation celebrates its 80th year.
Beverly Francis has been involved in the charity since 2018 and was appointed vice-chair a year ago. Elaine Aitken will take up the position as vice-chair having been with the charity since 2017.
Beverly Francis brings extensive public and third sector experience to the role. Bringing 16 years in key positions within Scottish Government, including in welfare reform and most recently in health improvement, she also has her own consultancy supporting the third sector. She is currently in the role as Interim Director for ProjectScotland where she has supported the merger with Volunteering Matters and has previously supported mental health charities AdvoCard and Partners in Advocacy.
Beverly Francis takes over as chair from Jock Miller who held the position for six years. Jock Miller will remain on the board as a trustee.
A further four trustees have joined the board. Susan Mallinder, Christopher Paton, Jane Hogg and Momin Rasheed all joined the charity at the start of the year. The new trustees all bring varying backgrounds, experience and skills which will help to shape and drive the organisation’s continued success.
Beverly Francis said “On behalf of everyone on the board, past and present, we would like to sincerely thank Jock for his leadership, dedication and sheer hard-work over the past 10 years. Through his direction we have successfully and quickly navigated the multiple challenges of COVID-19 and continued to provide essential care to over 500 older people through the crisis who simply could not survive without it.
I feel absolutely honoured to take up the role of chair at such a vitally important time for us all. Older people have been disproportionately affected by this life-shattering crisis. We do not yet know the real impact this past year will have had on the people we care for within our communities. So, we need to be ready to adapt, redesign and deliver the bespoke care they will need in a compassionate and caring way. We need to make sure our older people can safely and confidently re-enter our communities, and they will need our support to do so.
As LifeCare enters its 80th year as a charity, we are all thrilled to welcome four new trustees to the board who are all eager to get involved. I am excited to work more closely with the senior management team, alongside our new chief executive Damian McGowan. Once we are able, I very much look forward to getting out into the community to safely meet with the people we support, our hardworking staff and all of our dedicated volunteers.”
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR TEAM
