Children’s Hospices Across Scotland – better known as CHAS, has officially announced Peta Hay as the next Chair of the CHAS Board. Fife-based Peta is a highly experienced business leader and is deeply committed to CHAS’s ambition having served on the Board for nearly four years. As Chair, Peta will provide clear guidance and direction to the CHAS Board and its committees; bringing an impressive career in retail and leadership development to the fore.
Peta will take up the post when the current Chair, George Reid retires in September after serving 12 years as a trustee of the charity and four years as Chair.
Speaking of her appointment, Peta said:
“As a mother of two teenage children, I cannot begin to comprehend the heartbreak that some families experience and how desperately difficult it must be for them. CHAS is a charity that understands heartbreak and through the provision of integrated palliative and end of life care and respite we are able to provide support, compassion and care to children and families in really tough days, at end of life and after a child dies. As Chair of CHAS I am looking forward to working with Rami and the Board to realise CHAS’s ambition of being there for every family that needs our support and to help to keep the joy alive, even in the face of death.”
Simultaneously, CHAS announced that Dr Eddie Doyle has been appointed Vice Chair of the Board. Serving on the Board since 2017, Dr Doyle has been a consultant paediatric anaesthetist at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh since 1996 and is currently the Associate Medical Director for Women’s and Children’s Services in NHS Lothian. On his appointment, Eddie said,
“Across Scotland, CHAS is the most vital source of support and care for families who are living with a child (or children) with life-limiting conditions. I am deeply honoured to have been appointed Vice Chair of CHAS and to be part of the ambition to bring medical expertise and unparalleled compassion to families facing the most desperate of situations.”
Chief Executive Rami Okasha expressed his delight at the appointments and stated
“I am absolutely delighted to welcome Peta as our new Chair. Peta has a deep commitment to CHAS and a wealth of experience at a senior level working across Scotland and beyond. We are looking forward to benefitting from her knowledge and her passion for making a difference to the lives of children and families going through the hardest of times. Eddie will be a great vice chair and help make sure our care is delivered seamlessly with the NHS and local authorities. I’d like to thank George Reid for his wonderful service to CHAS over the last 12 years, and especially the last months when he has been of incredible support to me in leading the charity through the pandemic.”
George Reid, current Chair of the Board, endorsed the comments of his colleagues and stated: “I am proud of my time on the CHAS Board and delighted to be handing over the Chair role to Peta, with Eddie as Vice Chair. Both Peta and Eddie are long standing Trustees with impeccable credentials to lead the CHAS Board and work together with Rami and his Executive team to deliver the next stages of CHAS’s development. After over 12 years as a Trustee, I feel lucky to have played a part in supporting such a wonderful organisation that provides so much vital support to children and families going through the toughest of times. It has been a privilege to serve on the CHAS Board, and I will continue to support CHAS and its work in the years ahead.”
CHAS is dedicated reaching more of the 16,700 children and young people in Scotland who have a life-shortening condition. Currently the children’s hospice charity delivers integrated care across a variety of settings: in their two hospices, in hospital, at home and – since the pandemic started – virtually. In March 2020, CHAS launched the world’s first virtual children’s hospice and is continuing to prioritise end-of-life and emergency care in hospice and children’s homes as well as supporting the NHS and Scottish Government in their national effort.
About Peta Hay:
Peta Hay is an experienced business leader who has spent more than 20 years in key roles which have included Retail Store Director (for Tesco), Group Talent Director (for Asda Walmart) and Managing Director (for Saxton Bampfylde).
Peta developed her career within the retail sector joining Tesco as a graduate many years ago. She latterly reported to the Tesco Executive Board as Group Talent Director and was accountable for the recruitment and leadership development of Functional and Country COOs & CEOs.
In 2012, Peta joined Asda Walmart as their Group Talent & Diversity Director, and in this role was accountable for executive and board recruitment, professional development, diversity strategy, executive succession and development and was an advisor to Asda Walmart for their International Talent strategy.
In 2014, she joined the executive recruitment and search consultancy Saxton Bampfylde, and was responsible for establishing, leading and developing a start-up and strategic growth plan for the organisation in Scotland.
Peta now works as an independent Talent Development Consultant and Executive Coach and works directly with Chief Executives and Boards across a range of sectors and organisations providing management consultancy, executive coaching and executive mentoring.
Peta lives in Fife, with her husband John, her children Grace and Hamish and her dog Teddy. Living near Falkland means that Peta is able to indulge her passion for history and the outdoors.
About CHAS: https://www.chas.org.uk/
- Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS) is on a mission to reach every family in Scotland that needs its care, providing hospice services nation-wide to babies, children and young people with life-shortening conditions.
- CHAS offers palliative, respite and end-of-life care from Rachel House in Kinross,Robin House in Balloch, through CHAS at Home.
- Through its Diana Children’s Nurses and specialist children’s consultants working in hospitals acrossthe country, CHAS staff work alongside NHS colleagues to support families and clinical teams.
- We make sure that no matter how short family’s time together may be, it is filled with happiness and vitality. We keep the joy alive by helping families to celebrate the lives of their children while they are together, and to honour their memory when they are gone.
- CHAS recently commissioned research on children in Scotland requiring Palliative Care (ChiSP) 2 which shows up to-date information about the numbers and characteristics of babies, children and young people aged 0-21 who have life-shortening conditions. Across Scotland, 15,949 babies, children and young people have life-shortening conditions. Of these, 5,671 had contact with a hospital team in the preceding year.
CHAS has 380 staff and 850 volunteers supporting children and families in every local authority area in Scotland
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