A former NHS Highland chairwoman who “touched the lives of many” in both her professional and personal life has been named as the victim of a fatal Highland crash.
Caroline Thomson, 63, who lived in Daviot, was a passenger in an Audi V8 involved in a collision with a Toyota Auris on the A835 road near Dingwall on Tuesday night.
Her husband Allan Thomson, 66, who founded the pioneering renewable energy company Wavegen, was also injured in the crash. His injuries, and those of a second man involved in the collision, are not thought to be life threatening.
As colleagues and friends both past and present offered words of tribute, a poignant statement was issued by Mrs Thomson’s family.
It read: “We are so sad to have to announce that Caroline died in a car crash on Tuesday night.
“As well as being a loving wife, mother and grandmother Caroline was someone who devoted herself to serving the Highland community. She was particularly well known for her time as a board member and chair of NHS Highland and in the charitable sector.
“We are heartbroken and we know that many of those whose lives she has touched will miss her deeply.
Trained nurse Heather Sheerin was vice chairwoman on the board when Mrs Thomson was in the top job, and yesterday she said her close friend would be “sorely missed” by all who knew her.
She added: “She was heavily involved in the public health side of things and the wellbeing of people, and she just touched so many people’s lives. And that was not just locally but throughout the whole of NHS Scotland. Caroline was a very well kent’ face and had a very, very generous heart.
“She was definitely a big mover and shaker in the NHS. She was not frightened of challenging the status quo and when we worked on the Scottish Executive, at national meetings she would challenge the health ministers.”
Recently retired board chairman Gary Coutts, who took over from Mrs Thomson, referred to Mrs Thomson as a “dear friend” and “much loved colleague” who was a “fantastic leader” of the health board.
He said: “Whoever she was meeting – from government ministers or senior clinicians to patients or domestic staff – she had a genuine interest in them and the issues they were concerned about. She would always go the extra mile to try to do the best for people and find ways of ensuring they achieved what they wanted.
“She was an incredibly warm person who went out of her way to make people feel at their ease.
“She was well respected at the highest levels of government and although she was always polite and professional no one was left in any doubt about the case she was making for the health services in the North. Behind the charm and graciousness there was a steely determination to get the best deal for the board”.
Current board chairman David Alston also paid tribute to Mrs Thomson yesterday. He said he was “profoundly saddened” by the news, adding that it was her who had encouraged him to become a member of the NHS Board.
Mrs Thomson, along with her husband, was a keen sailor and the couple owned a yacht.
She had a passion for cookery and trying out new recipes and, along with her husband, loved Scottish country dancing.
Mrs Thomson is also survived by two sons, Alistair and Richard, and three grandchildren.