With its focus and expertise in building and developing the NHS workforce, University of Cumbria has appointed Dr Scott McLean as a Visiting Professor to its Institute of Health.
Scott is Chief Operating Officer at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT) which runs hospital and community services in south Cumbria and north Lancashire.
Scott’s trust role is critical to ensuring consistent quality care for patients in the region, combining broad operational knowledge with strategic planning.
Scott trained as a nurse in 1992 in Fife, Scotland, and then spent the next 15 years of his career working in Cardiology in Fife, Edinburgh and Dublin.
Having completed his PhD in the pre-hospital care of acute coronary syndromes, Scott moved to London in 2010 to take up post as Divisional Director of Nursing at Barts Health NHS Trust.
In 2013, Scott moved back to NHS Fife and was Executive Chief Nurse there before making the switch to become Chief Operating Officer. Scott then moved to Cardiff, Wales, where he was initially Director of Children and Women's Services before becoming Managing Director of the University Hospital of Wales. He joined University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust in 2022.
The university confers the title of Visiting Professor upon individuals of significant academic standing from other institutions, who are recognised as expert in their field.
“I am delighted to accept the offer of Visiting Professor at the university. I live and work in Cumbria and intend doing so for some time. These are exciting times of the university and for health and social care in this part of the world and I look forward to making a meaningful contribution,” Scott said.
University of Cumbria and UHMBT share a long-standing relationship that is firmly focussed on strengthening the healthcare workforce across south Cumbria and north Lancashire to improve patient outcomes through high quality care, often devising innovative and bespoke programmes to address key areas and emerging needs.
The relationship supports the university in its role as a leading provider of education to those who seek to become nurses, midwives and allied health professionals, creating trailblazing schemes such as the Nursing Associate programme and the Registered Nurse Degree Apprenticeship that was a UK first when it launched in 2018.
As well as educating future generations of skilled frontline healthcare professionals, the university and trust co-create programmes of continuing professional development for existing employees seeking to deepen their knowledge and expertise that allows them to access a range of postgraduate and other academic awards.
Professor Karen Stansfield, Dean for the University of Cumbria Institute of Health, said: “We are delighted to welcome Scott as a Visiting Professor to our Institute of Health. He is highly experienced in the fields of nursing, cardiology and leadership, strengths that will assist our existing and future students and staff and support our research in health and associated areas.
“Scott’s appointment exemplifies the long relationship between our university and the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, paving the way for further collaboration that will serve our shared ambitions to continually enhance patient care and achieve our mission to address place and sector higher-level skills needs, enabling our graduates and communities to thrive, and reduce health inequalities.”