Sir Lewis Duthie Ritchie (born 26 June 1952) is a Scottish medical doctor who worked as a

general practitioner A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...

(GP) and medical researcher. He is the James Mackenzie Professor of General Practice at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

and holds honorary professorships at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

and the

University of the Highlands and Islands The University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) () is an integrated, tertiary institution encompassing both further and higher education. It is composed of 10 colleges and research institutions spread around Inverness, the Highlands and Isl ...

Early life and education

Ritchie was born in

Fraserburgh Fraserburgh (; ), locally known as the Broch, is a town in Aberdeenshire (unitary), Aberdeenshire, Scotland, with a population recorded in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census as 13,100. It lies in Buchan in the northeastern corner of th ...

to Sheila Gladys and Lewis Duthie Ritchie. He attended

Fraserburgh Academy Fraserburgh Academy is a secondary school in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire. It is one of seventeen schools run by Aberdeenshire Council. The current school building was opened in 1962 by H.R.H The Princess Margaret. History Fraserburgh Academy wa ...

before going on to study chemistry and medicine at the

, 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

with an MSc in community medicine.

Career

Ritchie authored the book ''Computers in Primary Care: Practicalities and Prospects'' which was published in 1984. He 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 NHS Grampian is an NHS board which forms one of the fourteen regional health boards of NHS Scotland. It is responsible for proving health and social care services to a population of over 500,000 people living in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray ...

. 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 (QNIS). The following year he was appointed as an honorary professor in the

University of Edinburgh College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine The College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine is one of the three colleges of the University of Edinburgh. Structure The College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine is composed of two schools, with subgroups and research institutes included u ...

. In 2017, he was named as chair of a group of independent advisers, charged with looking at

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 ...

'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

Ritchie gave the

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 ...

James Mackenzie Lecture in 2010. He was made OBE in the

2011 Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2011 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 11 June 2011 in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: New Zealand,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 ...

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 The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

for services to the NHS in Scotland. He was invested on 5 July 2011.

References

External links

profile
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