A FORMER Derry City Council chief has been appointed to the most senior job in the Northern Ireland health service. Valerie Watts, pictured, will take over as chief executive of the Health and Social Care Board in July, replacing John Compton who is due to retire within days. Ms Watts will be taking the reins at the government body overseeing controversial reform of the health service in July and is already being urged to review 'Transforming Your Care'. Her predecessor was one of the authors of the contentious plan. Mr Compton had worked in the health and social care sector for 40 years and was one of the north's highest-paid civil servants with a salary of between £145,000 and £150,000 a year, plus a pension. Ms Watts is expected to receive a similar wage. Her appointment comes a fortnight after Colm Donaghy announced he was stepping down as head of the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust to take up a new post in England. The departure of Mr Donaghy and retirement of Mr Compton will bring change to the top tier of health service management. Health Minister Edwin Poots said he believed Ms Watts had "vision, drive and commitment" to lead. "This is an exceptionally challenging leadership role and we are lucky to have someone of her calibre come here to take up this position," he added. Sinn Fein assembly member and chair of the Health Committee at Stormont Maeve McLaughlin said Ms Watts has "a major task of work to do". "Currently there are issues around public confidence in the health system and the stress that staff on the front line are under." She said the committee had visited accident and emergency at the Royal Victoria Hospital on Monday where staff were "clearly under extreme pressure". "This is just a glimpse of the issues facing health care and the whole system needs reviewed. "Having worked with Valerie Watts when I was a councillor on Derry City Council I found her a capable and energetic worker and expect her to tackle the numerous issues facing our health service head on." The SDLP's Fearghal McKinney urged Ms Watts to review 'Transforming Your Care'. "When the minister launched the review he claimed that it was because the system was unsustainable," he said. "If, over two years later, authoritative and leading bodies like the Royal College of Nursing say that system is still unsustainable, they must be listened to. "There is an opportunity here for the new management to say that they will listen and they will act, and one way they can do that is to launch a formal review of the whole implementation process of Transforming Your Care based on the best needs of patients," he added.
