The Promise Scotland helps support the transformation of how Scotland cares for young people.
NHS Lanarkshire is the first NHS Board in Scotland to have a permanent Promise Development Officer.
Beth-Anne McDowall has joined NHS Lanarkshire who are committed to ensuring that all care-experienced people have the support they need if they have healthcare needs.
Beth-Anne’s role is to support NHS Lanarkshire to keep the promise, through continuously learning about what creates change, and helping changes to be implemented. This includes ensuring that healthcare staff can provide the support children and young people in the care system need to grow up loved, safe and respected. This also applies to adults who have experienced the care system.
Beth-Anne said: “This is the first Promise Centric post in an NHS Health Board.
“My role will involve many things, for me, the primary function of my role is to ensure Care-Experienced people within Lanarkshire contribute, design, influence and shape the services they receive from us to ensure they meet their needs and that they are supported to thrive.
“Keeping The Promise is everyone’s responsibility, not just social work or a local authority. This specific post demonstrates NHS Lanarkshire’s commitment that all care-experienced people grow up loved, safe and respected, so that they can realise their full potential.
“It is also a concrete commitment given as not only have NHS Lanarkshire created this post, they have made it permanent, ensuring that we will continuously adapt and evolve as the needs of the care community change.
“It is fitting that I have been successful in securing the post given that I not only worked at The Independent Care Review to help shape the conclusions of The Promise, and in various other national roles but I, myself, am care-experienced and from Lanarkshire so I’m really attuned to the needs of the care community.”
Trudi Marshall, Executive Nurse Director, added: “We are delighted to welcome Beth Anne to NHS Lanarkshire.
“The introduction of this post demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that the children and young people in Lanarkshire who have experienced care are supported to realise their full potential and that they grow up loved, safe and respected.
“Working in collaboration with our local councils and health and social care partnerships we have already made significant progress in implementation of The Promise.
“Beth Anne will now support us to continue this work and ensure that we keep the voice of the community central to our work in NHS Lanarkshire.”
Beth-Anne brings a wealth of experience to this role. Not only has she experienced the care system first hand she has been championing the rights of care-experienced children and adults for more than ten years.
She’s worked on the front lines in local government, a national children’s charity. Her outstanding contributions earned her a YouthLink Scotland Award in 2018 and a YoungScot Award in 2022.
Remarkably, Beth-Anne became Scotland’s youngest non-executive director at just 19, serving on the Children’s Hearings Scotland board for over eight years and is now a Board member with the Mental Welfare Commission.
To find out more about The Promise visit https://thepromise.scot/
Pic: (Left to right) Martin Hill, Chairman, Trudi Marshall, Executive Nurse Director, Louise Long, Chief Executive, Beth-Anne McDowall and Ally Boyle, Board Member
