A COUNTY charity which supports disabled and older people has announced its new chief executive.

Euan McPherson, currently head of operations, will take the helm of Services for Independent Living (SIL).  

Mr McPherson is well known in Herefordshire, having worked in both the voluntary and public sectors for more than 25 years.

Initially he worked for Scope as a support worker and then team leader, before moving to the Herefordshire Community Health Council in 1998 as a community development worker, before promotion to chief officer.

In 2002, Mr McPherson joined the Herefordshire Primary Care Trust NHS and established the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), the Expert Patient Programme and developed the PCT’s public engagement activity.

Between 2007 and 2009 he was seconded to the role of programme manager responsible for the procurement of the out of hours GP contract in Herefordshire and the development of the GP walk in centre on the ASDA site in Hereford.

Prior to joining SIL he was the public experience manager for the Herefordshire Partnership, working across health and local authority organisations.

Mr McPherson said: “I am naturally delighted that the Board have appointed me and I am looking forward to rising to the challenges which face the organisation.

“As anyone working within the third sector will tell you these are tough times and those organisations within the social care sector are under even more pressure because of funding cuts and the introduction of the new Social Care Act.”

In recent years much of Mr McPherson’s work has been managing staff and volunteers through periods of significant change and generating efficiencies, whilst maintaining quality.

His ethos is to develop and manage services which meet the needs of the end user and to involve service users and staff in the change and development of those services.

This experience and attitude had a significant impact on the decision by SIL’s Board to appoint Mr McPherson.

Colin Javons, chairman of the Board, said: “We are all very conscious of the changes which we as an organisation are facing.

"We wanted to appoint someone who understood and lived the values of SIL, while having the drive and ability to lead us through a period of change and into a strong and secure future.

“We believe that by appointing Euan we have the found the best person to do this and are confident that with Euan at the top SIL is in safe hands.”