New NHS Dumfries and Galloway chief outlines challenges
The newly-appointed chief executive of NHS Dumfries and Galloway has described demographic changes as the greatest challenge to services in the region.
Jeff Ace was speaking ahead of his first health board meeting in his new role with the organisation.
He said meeting the needs of an ageing population while maintaining care standards required careful handling.
However, Mr Ace - who first joined the organisation in 1999 - said the overall outlook was good.
"We have got some really exciting times in front of us, particularly with the development of the new Dumfries Infirmary," he said.
"If we can mesh together the challenges that we're facing together with these opportunities that we've been offered, I think there's a really positive future for the NHS in the region.
"What is key to this is making sure that the quality of all our interventions, the quality of our clinical teams, is absolutely first class."