Dame Caroline Jan MacEwen , known as Carrie MacEwen, is a British

ophthalmology Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

consultant who has served as the chair of the

General Medical Council The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of physician, medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the pu ...

(GMC) since May 2022. She was previously acting chair of the GMC between August 2021 and May 2022, the chair of the

Academy of Medical Royal Colleges The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC) is the coordinating body for the United Kingdom and Ireland's 23 Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties. It ensures that patients are safely and properly cared for by setting standards for the way doct ...

between 2017 and 2020 and the president of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCOphth) between 2014 and 2017.

Career

MacEwen was born and grew up in Glasgow, Scotland. Her father was an ophthalmology consultant and she cites him as her inspiration for her career. MacEwen has three brothers. She studied medicine at the

University of Dundee The University of Dundee is a public research university based in Dundee, Scotland. It was founded as a university college in 1881 with a donation from the prominent Baxter family of textile manufacturers. The institution was, for most of its ...

, graduating in 1981. MacEwen specialised in ophthalmology and has been a consultant since 1996. She works as a consultant at the

Ninewells Hospital Ninewells Hospital is a large teaching hospital, based on the western edge of Dundee, Scotland. It is internationally renowned for introducing laparoscopic surgery to the UK as well as being a leading centre in developing fields such as the manag ...

NHS Tayside NHS Tayside is an NHS board which forms one of the fourteen regions of NHS Scotland. It provides healthcare services in Angus, Scotland, Angus, the Dundee City council area and Perth and Kinross. NHS Tayside is headquartered at Ninewells Hospit ...

in Dundee and is an Honorary Professor of Ophthalmology at the

University of Dundee School of Medicine The University of Dundee School of Medicine is the school concerned with medical education and clinical research at the University of Dundee in Scotland. In 1967, Dundee's medical school became independent in its own right having started in 1889 ...

. Her research is focused on paediatric ophthalmology, ocular trauma, sports ophthalmology and disorders of eye movement. MacEwen was the chair of the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership, ophthalmology specialty adviser to the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, co-clinical lead for the ophthalmology workstream of the Getting It Right First Time programme in England, and Associate Dean for less than full time training for East Scotland. She stated her support for

assisted suicide Assisted suicide, sometimes restricted to the context of physician-assisted suicide (PAS), is the process by which a person, with the help of others, takes actions to end their life. Once it is determined that the person's situation qualifie ...

in 2015. While president of the RCOphth, MacEwen helped to develop the Ophthalmic Common Clinical Competency Framework and commissioned The Way Forward. The former, published in 2016, sets the standards and guidance for the knowledge and skills required for non-medical healthcare professionals to deliver patient care. The latter, published in 2017, aimed to share best practice to facilitate local service redesign. She was the chair of the

between 2017 and 2020. In this role, MacEwen, in an interview with ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' in February 2020, urged doctors to take responsibility in leading improvements in patient care and not "sit on their hands" and blame the government alone. She suggested an example of this was if an IT problem was delaying patient care in a clinic then doctors should arrange for this to be fixed. MacEwen served as acting chair of the GMC between August 2021 and May 2022 before being appointed as the chair by the Privy Council. She is the second woman to hold the position since its founding in 1858. In a speech at the

Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow is a global community of over 15,000 Members working together to develop skills, knowledge and leadership to drive the highest standards in healthcare. For 425 years, the Royal College of ...

in October 2021, she set out the GMC's vision on how they would help to improve doctors' wellbeing with a shift from "stepping in when things go wrong to fostering supportive environments that stop harm from happening in the first place". MacEwen said that the GMC would do this by conducting more research and data collection and further development of their equality, diversity, and inclusion programme. She would also aim to reduce disproportionality between BME and white doctors in fitness-to-practice referrals by employers and attainment in undergraduate and postgraduate education. MacEwen oversaw the consultation on the review of ''Good Medical Practice'', the main guidance document for UK doctors' standards, in 2022, which was updated in January 2024. The document was updated again in December 2024 to also apply to physician associates and anaesthesia associates after the GMC started regulation of those professions.

Personal life

She is married to a fellow doctor and has three children.

Honours

Fellow of: * British and Irish Orthoptic Society (Honorary), College of Optometrists (Honorary), Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management (Senior Fellow) *

Faculty of Public Health The Faculty of Public Health (FPH) is a public health association in the United Kingdom established as a registered charity. It is the standard setting body for public health specialists within the United Kingdom, setting standards for training ...

(Honorary), Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine UK (Honorary),

Royal College of General Practitioners The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) is the professional body for general (medical) practitioners (GPs/ Family Physicians/ Primary Care Physicians) in the United Kingdom. The RCGP represents and supports GPs on key issues including ...

(Honorary) * Royal College of Ophthalmologists (Honorary/Past President),

Royal College of Pathologists The Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath) is a professional membership organisation. Its main function is the overseeing of postgraduate training, and its Fellowship Examination (FRCPath) is recognised as the standard assessment of fitness to p ...

(Honorary),

Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that set the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by royal charter i ...

(Honorary),

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) 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 establis ...

Worshipful Company of Barbers The Worshipful Company of Barbers is one of the livery companies of the City of London, and ranks 17th in precedence. The Fellowship of Surgeons merged with the Barbers' Company in 1540, forming the Company of Barbers and Surgeons, but after t ...

(Honorary Freeman) She was appointed

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(DBE) in the

2021 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2021 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...

for services to ophthalmology and healthcare leadership during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

References

External links

Profile page: Dr. Carrie MacEwen
The Royal College of Ophthalmologists {{DEFAULTSORT:MacEwen, Carrie Living people Academics of the University of Dundee British ophthalmologists Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of England Fellows of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists Women ophthalmologists Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire 1958 births Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Dundee