Sir Lewis Duthie Ritchie (born 26 June 1952) is a Scottish medical doctor who worked as a general practitioner (GP) and medical researcher. He is the James Mackenzie Professor of General Practice at the University of Aberdeen and holds honorary professorships at the University of Edinburgh and the University of the Highlands and Islands.

Early life and education

Ritchie was born in

Fraserburgh Fraserburgh (; sco, The Broch or ; gd, A' Bhruaich) is a town in Aberdeenshire (unitary), Aberdeenshire, Scotland with a population recorded in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census at 13,100. It lies at the far northeast corner of Aber ...

to Sheila Gladys and Lewis Duthie Ritchie. He attended Fraserburgh Academy before going on to study chemistry and medicine at the University of Aberdeen, graduating with BSc and MB ChB (with commendation) in 1978. He received his MD from the University in 1993. In 1982, he graduated from the University of Edinburgh with an MSc in community medicine.

Career

Ritchie was appointed the James Mackenzie Professor of General Practice at the University of Aberdeen in 1992. In 2012, he was appointed director of Public Health in NHS Grampian. In January 2015, the Scottish Government announced him as the chair of a review into out-of-hours services. Ritchie said that to inform the review he had talked to doctors, patients, ambulance staff and

NHS 24 NHS 24 is Scotland's national telehealth and telecare organisation. This special health board runs a telephone advice and triage service that covers the out-of-hours period (Mondays to Fridays between 6pm and 8am, public holidays and all weekend). ...

workers. Ten months later, his report made 28 recommendations. Ritchie retired from practicing medicine in 2012. To mark the occasion he bought the ''Julia Park Barry'', a lifeboat that had been used to save hundreds of people before being taken out of service in 1969. He gifted it to the community. In 2014, he was appointed chair of Council of the

Queen's Nursing Institute Scotland The Queen's Nursing Institute Scotland (QNIS) is a charity which promotes high quality community nursing. Based in Edinburgh, the body was founded in 1889 with the opening of the small Central Training Home at North Charlotte Street. Due to the h ...

(QNIS). In 2017, he was named as chair of a group of independent advisers, charged with looking at NHS Tayside's financial difficulties and to report to Scottish Government within a three month period. In January 2018, he was named as the chair of a review of urgent care services in Skye, Lochalsh and Wester Ross. Interim findings were published a few months later.

Awards and honours

He was made OBE in the 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours. He was elected as a fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

in 2016. In the

2011 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2011 were announced on 31 December 2010 in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: New Zealand,New Zealand"New Year Honours 2011"(14 January 2011) 2 ''New Zealand Gazette'' 55. The Cook IslandsThe Cook Islands: Grenada,Grenada: ...

he was made Knight Bachelor for services to the NHS in Scotland. He was invested on 5 July 2011.

References

External links

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at University of Aberdeen {{DEFAULTSORT:Ritchie, Lewis 1952 births Living people People from Fraserburgh People educated at Fraserburgh Academy 20th-century Scottish medical doctors 21st-century Scottish medical doctors Scottish general practitioners Fellows of the Royal College of General Practitioners Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Officers of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor