Scottish Health Secretary Alex Neil said he cannot guarantee that the new chairman of NHS Grampian will live and work in the region.
North-east Labour MSP Lewis Macdonald wrote to him seeking an assurance following the shock resignation of Bill Howatson who will stand down as chairman from the health board at the end of the year.
The crisis at the top of NHS Grampian has been exacerbated by the recent announcement that chief executive Richard Carey is taking early retirement and the retirement last month of medical director Dr Roelf Dijkhuizen after 26 years with the board.
Mr Macdonald, a staunch critic of the Scottish Government’s handling of NHS Grampian, said there was public concern that the next chairman will have little or no understanding of the needs of the north-east.
“With the departure of the chairman, the chief executive and the medical director announced in recent weeks, local leadership in the delivery of healthcare in the north-east has never been more important,” he said.
“The men and women appointed to run NHS Grampian must be selected on the basis of their ability to fight for the needs of patients in the north-east, and not because of their willingness to dance to Edinburgh’s tune.”
But Mr Neil said his hands were tied over where the new chairman lives or works as appointments to all health boards are regulated by the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland through the 2013 Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies in Scotland.
Mr Neil said the appointment will be scrutinised by an assessor appointed by the commissioner to ensure the code of practice is adhered to. The successful candidate will be appointed on merit and on the evidence provided during the appointment process.
“Whilst I cannot guarantee that the new chair will be someone who lives and works in Grampian, an essential requirement to the post is that the applicant demonstrate a substantive knowledge about, interest in, or connection to the delivery of health and social care services in the areas served by the board,” he said.