Elaine Mead

Elaine Mead is currently an Executive Director of Improvement, Care and Compassion, IC&C, an organisation committed to supporting leaders on their improvement journey across the UK and Europe. Elaine has enjoyed over 34 years’ experience working in clinical, managerial and Executive roles within the National Health Service across the UK.  Her original professional clinical background was as a diagnostic radiographer with experience in general, research and academic settings. In her previous position, Elaine held the position of Chief Executive of NHS Highland for eight years, originally moving to the Highlands of Scotland, as their first Chief Operating Officer. She was responsible for the development of the first totally integrated health and care system in Scotland, which continues to support services across 41% of the most remote and rural land mass of the UK. Elaine is a passionate ambassador for quality and led the development of the Highland Quality Approach, an improvement system supporting NHS Highland to improve quality of care based on increasing value.  Through this work she built a world-wide network of contacts to share best practice and has hosted multiple study-tours, presented at many key international conferences and has published on both quality improvement at scale and the integration of health and social care.  Elaine coaches and supports teams at Board and Executive level to create value and minimise waste in systems through her works as Executive Sensei for NHS Improvement in England and also as Faculty member of the Institute of Health Improvement. As a committed practitioner of Quality Improvement, Elaine is a certified Lean Leader from Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys having had a close association with the Virginia Mason Institute. Elaine has been awarded a Fellowship by the International Society for Quality in Healthcare ISQua and is a current member of Q Scotland. Elaine has had the opportunity to manage complex systems across the NHS in the UK and also deliver health care and screening in the private sector, working for a number of organisations including the Harley Street Clinic, London, the AMI Group and BUPA.  She was a research radiographer on the staff of Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals Medical Schools. Elaine took up position of visiting Professor at the University of the Highlands and Islands supporting the delivery of disperse multi-professional health and care training across the Highlands and Islands, is an active non-executive member of the Ireland East Hospitals Board in Dublin. As a founding member of the Catalysis European CEO Forum, Elaine now continues to connect colleagues across Europe as Faculty, facilitating and supporting the Forum from her base in Scotland.