Appointment of new Medical Director at Yorkshire Ambulance Service

Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) has appointed Dr Shona McCallum to the role of Medical Director following the recent retirement of Dr Julian Mark. 

Shona will be joining YAS from the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, where she is currently the Medical Director for Rochdale Infirmary and is responsible for the clinical services provided both on the hospital site and in the wider community. Shona leads on the integration of primary and secondary care for the Trust. She qualified over 30 years ago, training in respiratory and general medicine.

Speaking of her appointment, Shona said: “I am delighted to be taking up the role of Medical Director and thank you to YAS for giving me the opportunity to develop clinical services with the team at YAS. 

“With the launch of the NHS 10-year plan and the move from hospital to community delivered healthcare, this provides an excellent opportunity to develop the services we offer to Yorkshire communities and people.” 

Peter Reading, Chief Executive at YAS, said: “We look forward to welcoming Shona to the Trust. Her extensive knowledge and experience will be essential as we continue to focus on providing the communities we serve with the high-quality care and services they need and deserve.”

Shona became a consultant in 2002 and has worked across Rochdale, Heywood and Middleton for the past 20 years. Since 2017, she has been Medical Director for Rochdale Infirmary and board member of the Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Provider collaborative, an internationally recognised and award-winning integrated delivery partnership. She has extensive experience of leading significant reconfiguration and redesign of clinical services, with a focus on reducing health inequalities and developing a clinical workforce to address them. She is the clinical lead for a project with North West Ambulance Service, primary care and community services to reduce avoidable conveyance to emergency departments, with improved and standardised out-of-hospital options.

Shona is expecting to join YAS at the start of October 2025.