The head of Fife’s health and social care partnership is to leave his post after a challenging year for the service.
Michael Kellet’s will depart at the end of July to take on a new role around Brexit and the constitution with the Scottish Government.
It follows a difficult period during which he oversaw controversial budget decisions amid a £23.6 million financial black hole, as well as a redesign of primary care and community services.
North East Fife Liberal Democrat MSP Willie Rennie said: “He deserves our appreciation.”
Mr Kellet said he was proud of the progress made by the partnership since its inception in 2015, and commended staff for their hard work in providing “high quality, vital services”.
“We’ve developed and invested in new models of care supporting people to live well at home,” he said.
“We’ve prioritised working in local areas with communities and with the voluntary sector to develop a preventative approach to support the needs of local communities and to tackle the inequalities that are still too prevalent.
“We’ve prioritised mental health services and also taken a number of tough decisions to ensure services are sustainable for the longer term.”
He said new leadership would build on the work already done and continue to address the challenges ahead.
Mr Rennie said: “I’m not sure he’ll find handling Brexit any easier than health and social care in Fife but I’m sure everybody will wish him well and hope he is successful in his new role.”
Rosemary Liewald, chairwoman of the partnership’s integration joint board, said: “I believe he has led the IJB through what is the most challenging time of change any partnership can have regarding joined-up care redesign.”
