NHS Highland board members have agreed in principle to start branding themselves as a “University Health Board” to help recruit staff and boost reputation.
The approach would reflect the close working relationship with the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI).
The legal name and logo will remain the same, but on communications and correspondence it will use “NHS Highland: A University Health Board.”
NHS Highland has links with several universities, but its ties with UHI have been strengthened with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding last year and the recent transfer of the school of nursing, formerly part of the University of Stirling, to UHI.
Director of public health and health policy, Dr Hugo van Woerden, told fellow board members yesterday that NHS Lanarkshire is also consulting on the change which is already common in England and Wales.
And board chief executive Elaine Mead said she recently spoke with her counterparts in Toronto, Canada, where they speak of their healthcare provision in terms of “faculties.”
Board member Alasdair Lawton said: “One of the barriers to attracting good staff up here is the lack of cutting edge research, so I can not see how this move would harm things at all.”
Nurse director and board member Heidi May said: “I think it’s a fantastic opportunity to bring different training opportunities.”
