Simon Bokor-Ingram, Chief Officer of Health & Social Care Moray (HSCM), is stepping down from his role at the end of this month for health reasons.
Simon, who is also Moray Portfolio Lead within NHS Grampian, has been leading the integrated health and social care partnership since April 2020. He will redeploy to a part-time position within NHS Grampian where he will be working on sustainability projects.
Acknowledging that he will miss the chief officer position greatly, Simon is nevertheless looking forward to being able to continue contributing to health and care in the region in his next role.
He said: โI am very proud of what the team delivers across Moray in community and acute settings day in and day out, and I am honoured to have had the opportunity to work with such dedicated people.
โUnfortunately, my ongoing long term health condition means that I cannot maintain the energy required for the leadership role of the Chief Officer. I have made the difficult decision to step down to protect my own health and so that my limitations do not impact on the leadership capacity we require as an organisation.
โWhile I will be in a different role from June 2024, I am really pleased that I will still be supporting the delivery of health and care in Grampian, and as a recipient of ongoing care from an excellent cardiology team, I can also bring a patient perspective to my work.โ
Tracy Colyer, Chair of the Moray Integration Joint Board (IJB) which governs the work of HSCM, said: โWe are grateful to Simon for the substantial contribution he has made to health and social care in Moray. He arrived at a very difficult time early on in the Covid pandemic and his leadership over the past four years has been exceptional.
โSimon has taken a very sensible decision to prioritise his health and we wish him well in his new role.โ
Simon joined the Moray partnership in April 2020 as interim Chief Officer on secondment from Shetland, where he had been Chief Officer for health and social care since 2015.
Following a competitive process, he was appointed Chief Officer in January 2021. Simon subsequently added Moray Portfolio Lead to his role, with a remit including Dr Grayโs Hospital in Elgin, along with being Senior Responsible Officer for the Moray Maternity Programme, working jointly with NHS Highland.
In a second departure from the senior management team, Tracy Stephen is preparing to leave her post as Chief Social Work Officer and Head of Service at the end of May. This follows her appointment as Director of Childrenโs Services at St Helens Council in the north of England.
Tracy, who has been a social worker for more than 25 years, took up post as Chief Social Work Officer and Head of Service for Moray in 2022. She has overseen the delegation of Children and Families and Justice Social Work to the Moray IJB, driven a number of improvement programmes, and led on work for the Moray Childrenโs Services Plan which was launched last October.
Cllr Colyer said: โWe thank Tracy for all her hard work as Chief Social Work Officer and Head of Service and wish her every success as she continues to progress her career in public service.โ
Moray Council today (Wednesday 22 May) agreed arrangements to recruit for an Interim Chief Social Work Officer and Head of Service. The permanent post will be advertised in June.
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A joint report on the recruitment, associated process and timescale for the permanent Chief Officer post has been prepared by both the Interim Chief Executive of the Council and the Interim Chief Executive of NHS Grampian and will be considered by the Moray IJB on 30 May.
