5 Questions for... Dougie Paterson

Hi Dougie, you have just taken on the role as Acting Head of Implementation. Congratulations on the new post!

Many people will know you from your three years as Choose Life's Operations Manager but can you tell us a bit more about your background?

I have been involved with social work and development for over 20 years. When I first started out I was working with young offenders, people with substance abuse issues and homeless people. In 2001 I started a post, working the island of St Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, specialising in social work and community care. Three years later I was ready to move back to Scotland where I took the post with Choose Life as the National Operations Manager.

So why is working in suicide/ mental health important for you?

I have been involved with mental health for most of my career. Although I have also worked with substance abuse - mental health is a consistent theme. I feel that working in this field allows me to have a real impact on people's lives.

How do you feel about guiding the strategy through the transition to NHS Health Scotland?

I'm very excited to be so involved at this developing stage of strategy. The move to NHS Health Scotland will open up exciting opportunities for development and I want to ensure that Choose Life continues to go from strength to strength. A more comprehensive support structure will hopefully help us reach our objective of securing the future sustainability of suicide prevention work.

What do you feel are Choose Life's strengths going forward?

Choose Life is lucky to have so many strong partnerships with talented and dedicated people, both at local and national level, which is a huge benefit to the suicide prevention agenda. Although those partnerships will continue to be developed by NHS Health Scotland, we understand that change can be unsettling for some people, so we are planning to make sure that the network communicates better than it ever has done before. More information on this is available in our 'Transitions' newsletter, due out early next month.

It is Breathing Space Day on the 1^st of February. What do you do to maintain your own mental health and wellbeing?

Spending time with my two sons is important to me and it's great that we have a shared interest in football. I really enjoy going to matches with them. It can be quite a relaxing experience too – not that I get much time to relax with all the goals Hibs score at Easter Road of course!