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NHS Scotland chief executive Caroline Lamb to step down

News imagePA Media A woman with brown hair with blonde highlights leaves a building with two other women in the background. The woman is wearing a black jacket and a leopard print scarf. PA Media
Caroline Lamb was appointed as NHS Scotland chief executive in January 2021

NHS Scotland chief executive Caroline Lamb is stepping down from her post, after five years in the role.

The Scottish government confirmed she plans to retire at the end of August and that the process to appoint her successor will get under way shortly.

Lamb, who is a chartered accountant, trained in London with KPMG before moving to Scotland to work in housing and education, before joining the NHS in 2004.

She was appointed by the Scottish government in 2019 as director of the digital health and care directorate and took up her current role in January 2021.

Lamb replaced Martin Wright, who resigned in May 2020 on health grounds after less than a year in the job.

During the Covid pandemic she oversaw the Test and Protect contact tracing system and the vaccination programme.

Lamb is also currently the government's director general for health and social care.