He takes up position on 14 November
A new head for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) Scotland has been announced.
David McColgan, who currently leads the BHF’s policy and public affairs teams in the devolved nations, will take up the position on 14 November.
He brings a wealth of experience to the role and is well-known within the charitable, healthcare and research communities in Scotland.
During his time at the BHF, he has led a variety of hugely successful campaigns which have influenced change, including the adoption of a new heart disease strategy for Scotland, the move to an opt-out organ donation system and BHF Scotland’s award-winning Nation of Lifesavers campaign, to help ensure children in Scotland learn CPR before leaving secondary school.
Most recently, McColgan took a leading role in setting up NCD Alliance Scotland – a coalition of leading charities working together across the country to reduce the health burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease, diabetes, lung disease and stroke.
He joined the BHF in 2013, having previously worked with the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, the Scottish Sports Association, and the Scottish Government.
On his appointment, McColgan said: “I am hugely excited to take up this role at a time when the lifesaving work of the BHF has never been more needed. Around 700,000 people are living with heart and circulatory diseases in Scotland, and they cause nearly 50 deaths here every day.
“That is why the work of our researchers is so important and why we urgently need the public’s support to fund the breakthroughs and treatments to keep hearts beating, so that more families can stay together for longer. We are so lucky here in Scotland to have some of the world’s leading scientists working alongside us and I cannot wait to get started.”
The BHF is the largest independent funder of research into heart and circulatory diseases in Scotland, research that is only made possible thanks to the generosity of the public. Over the past 60 years, the BHF has been instrumental in countless lifesaving discoveries. BHF-funded research has contributed to improving survival from heart transplants, the development of pacemakers, improving the way that heart attacks are treated, and the rollout of genetic testing for inherited heart conditions. Since the BHF was established in 1961, the annual number of heart and circulatory deaths in Scotland has fallen by half.
Currently, the BHF is funding more than £50 million in research projects in ten universities across Scotland, including at its Centres of Research Excellence at the universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Dr Charmaine Griffiths, chief executive of the British Heart Foundation, said: “We are absolutely delighted to appoint David as Head of BHF Scotland. In his nine years at the BHF, he has championed our work and led many successful campaigns which have had a real impact on the lives of people affected by heart and circulatory diseases.
“We have made great progress since the BHF was founded in 1961, so much so that research that once seemed like science fiction is now becoming reality. It’s a hugely exciting time for the BHF and I have no doubt David will continue to be a real asset to our work here in Scotland.”
