Dr Roger Smith

Dr Roger Smith, 81, lives in Edinburgh. A former chair of trustees at Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, his involvement with the organisation began in the early 1980s when he was then a senior lecturer in geriatric medicine at the Western General Hospital in the city. He sat on the charity’s then-council for almost 30 years before becoming chairman in 2013.

His five-year chairmanship saw a complete reorganisation of the charity’s internal structures and a refocus of its priorities into post-hospital care, which has since become the overarching strategy of No Life Half Lived. Since stepping down as chair in 2018, he has continued to devote time and energy to the charity, this time as a volunteer in the CHSS Morningside boutique store.

Few people can boast of more than four decades’ involvement in the same charity.

Even fewer people can take credit for being a vital part of that charity’s transformation and shaping of a strategy that would see it grow rapidly in its services, its reach and its fundraising

Dr Roger Smith is one of those people, and his impact on Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland since his first involvement in the charity more than 40 years ago is immeasurable.

He said: “I didn’t know I would spend a lifetime involved with this charity, but I’m very glad I have.”

As a senior lecturer in geriatric medicine at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh, Dr Smith was used to dealing with elderly patients presenting with chest, heart and stroke conditions.

So, it was the perfect fit when his then-boss, Professor James Williamson, persuaded him to take an active role in what was then known as the Chest Heart & Stroke Association Scotland. Professor Williamson would go on to become chairman of the charity.

This was a role that Dr Smith would also fulfil, taking the reins in 2013. Within a year, he and fellow trustees were looking to recruit a new chief executive and reached the conclusion that dramatic change was required if the organisation – first established in the 1890s – was to continue to be effective into the 21st century.

Dr Smith recalled: “We realised there was a lot of duplication going on in the organisation and that needed to be streamlined. But we also needed to find our purpose. We were funding research, but other, bigger name charities were doing the same and were doing so much more successfully than we were.

“We engaged a chap to talk about change management with us because we wanted to encourage staff to think about how we might change. He said two things that have stuck with me: that change is painful and, if it’s not, you’re not changing. And he also warned us not to salami slice, to think we could get away with only dropping little things because, before you know it, you’re back to square one.

“We had lots of discussion about where our priorities should be, and one area in which we identified a gap was in post-hospital care. My background in geriatric medicine meant I was looking at the spectrum – long-stay care at one end with living independently at the other and all the little bits in between.

“We realised the acute side was being taken care of by the NHS while were others filling the research side. So, here was the area – the immediate post-discharge care – where we should focus.”

Working with chief executive Jane-Claire Judson, who was appointed in 2017, as chairman Dr Smith oversaw the structural and organisation changes that streamlined the organisation, the adoption of the new name – Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland – and the introduction of the Hospital to Home service, which offered practical and community support to those living with our conditions. The charity’s Community Support Services are building on the foundation of those changes with an ambitious goal of reaching even more people over the next five years.

Dr Smith added: “All of the changes that happened within CHSS when I was chair only happened because of the support of staff and board members at the time. Everyone was pulling in the same direction.”

After more than five years as chairman, Dr Smith stepped down from that role in 2018, but he didn’t sever his connection with the charity. In fact, he went in a very different direction in the next stage of his Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland journey – becoming a retail volunteer.

He said: “Just before Covid-19 struck, I made the mistake of taking some clothes into the Morningside shop in Edinburgh. I was met by Christine Ferguson, who is a long-time volunteer and force of nature. That was it. I was signed up for Wednesday mornings.

“Obviously my time in the shop was interrupted by Covid when all stores were closed. And, unfortunately, the shop suffered a serious fire recently and is currently closed, but I’ll be back when the premises are ready. It’s such a great team at Morningside and so good to be part of.

“When I was chairman, one of the best parts of the job was getting out to meet people in our shops and in the peer support groups. I’d often pop into a CHSS shop if I was on holiday, just to say hello.

“It’s like being part of a wonderful extended family, and it’s been my privilege and pleasure to be part of this lovely organisation for so long.”