Dumfries doctor expresses gratitude after being recognised in New Year's Honours

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A Dumfries doctor honoured by the King in the New Year honours has expressed her gratitude for the award. Dr Lisa Ritchie will receive an OBE for services to healthcare, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic.

She is one of the UK’s foremost experts and nursing leaders in Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practice. Dr Ritchie took on the role of head of IPC at NHS England in April 2020 and has been the driving force behind the development of a unified cross-UK approach to infection prevention and control.

She said: “I am very, very grateful to have been considered, put forward for and to receive this award. The response to Covid-19, as to all healthcare or community associated infections, is very much a team effort. “So, while I am deeply honoured and extremely proud to receive this award, I pay credit to the work of all my colleagues, especially my fellow IPC practitioners, for all that they have contributed and accomplished over the years.” Dr Ritchie has worked in infection control since 1998, initially at NHS Dumfries and Galloway and then at Health Protection Scotland (HPS) from 2009 to 2020.

She led a multi-disciplinary team of staff at HPS in the development of a National Infection Prevention and Control Manual (NIPCM) and worked with IPC leaders across Scotland in support of implementation.