Media release: Robert Peel appointed new Chair of SMC
Healthcare Improvement Scotland has appointed Dr Robert Peel as the new Chair of the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC).
Rob, is a Consultant Nephrologist, based at the Raigmore Hospital, Inverness and, until recently, was chair of the SMC’s New Drugs Committee.
As chair of the SMC, Rob will lead national advice on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of all new medicines for NHSScotland. SMC’s aim is to ensure that people in Scotland have timely access to medicines that provide most benefit based on evidence and cost.
Rob studied medicine at St George’s Hospital Medical School, before spending his early career in Fort William, and Edinburgh. He undertook specialist training in Nephrology in Edinburgh, Oxford, and Yorkshire.
He has been a Consultant Nephrologist in NHS Highland since 2004, where he developed the service that now provides dialysis in Wick, Skye, Fort William and, Stornoway as well as the main unit in Inverness. He has been involved in the work of NHS Highland’s Area Drugs and Therapeutics Committee since 2005.
Rob first joined SMC in June 2009 and became a member of the New Drugs Committee in April 2018. He was appointed NDC Co-Vice Chair in March 2020 and NDC Chair in April 2023.
He said:
“It is an immense privilege to be the next Chair of the Scottish Medicines Consortium, an organisation that is rightly recognised around the world. I have big boots to fill, but I know that I will be supported by a fantastic team when facing the challenges that come with a role like this.”
Chair of SMC
Rob succeeds Professor Scott Muir in the role, with Scott having served his three-year term. He will take up his new post on 1 April 2026.
Dr Yvonne Semple, Chief Pharmaceutical Adviser, of SMC, said:
“We’re delighted to welcome Rob to his new role as SMC Chair and to continue to work with him. We’d like to thank Scott for all his hard work and commitment and wish him the very best for the future.”
Chief Pharmaceutical Adviser, SMC
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Notes to editor
Healthcare Improvement Scotland is the national improvement agency for health and care in Scotland. We provide independent assurance of the quality and safety of the care provided by Scotland’s health and care system and measure how outcomes for people are improving and inequalities reducing. With partner organisations, we will consider how services are working together as an integrated system to implement improvements.
SMC is part of Healthcare Improvement Scotland. The SMC committee is made up of clinicians, pharmacists, NHS board representatives, the pharmaceutical industry and the public. Members of the SMC Committee make their decisions based on a broad range of evidence in order to help health professionals deliver the best possible care within the finite resources available. They consider detailed evidence presented by pharmaceutical companies, patient groups and clinicians in order to decide which medicines provide value for money for NHSScotland.
For more information on how we make our decisions, go to the SMC website: https://scottishmedicines.org.uk/how-we-decide/
