Top award for NHS Forth Valley diseases expert

An NHS Forth Valley Infectious Diseases Consultant who helped develop a new service for local patients has been awarded the prestigious William Cullen Prize.

The award to Dr Amy Baggot is from the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE), and follows a raft of earlier distinguished achievements.

Dr Amy Baggott, who has a special interest in HIV infection, has been in post for less than two years but has already set up new models of care while working with another consultant, Dr Manjul Medhi.

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This includes introducing outpatient clinics for infectious diseases referrals so that patients no longer have to travel to Glasgow for specialist review.

She has also developed a service which allows patients who require intravenous antibiotics but are well enough to be discharged from hospital to continue treatment as an outpatient.

In its first year this has benefited more than 100 people.

In addition, Dr Baggott has worked closely with orthopaedic surgeons, maxillofacial surgeons, cardiologists and vascular surgeons, to provide shared care for a range of patients with complex conditions and helped set up infection training for trainees in Ward A31 at Forth Valley Royal Hospital.

Dr Baggott said: “It really has been a very unexpected honour to be put forward for this prize.

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“I owe a huge amount to NHS Forth Valley for supporting me as a new Consultant and providing me with the team and resources to take on the challenge of developing a new service here.

“I love being able to do this work and could not do the job without the support of my excellent consultant colleagues, the doctors in training, nurses and Allied Health Professionals who comprise our team.

“It is great to work for an organisation that is committed to improving the patient experience and developing a new specialty service in this way.”

Dr Baggott qualified at Edinburgh Medical School in 2008 and completed her foundation training in South East Scotland.

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She obtained the Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene through part time study at the University of Glasgow, which deepened her interest in infectious diseases, and also trained down south.

She added: “I was drawn to this specialty by the variety of patients we see, the breadth of unusual and interesting conditions that we treat, the constant possibility of new and emerging infections and the challenge to develop strategies to deal with increasing antimicrobial resistance.

NHS Forth Valley Medical Director Andrew Murray, said: “Since arriving in NHS Forth Valley, Dr Baggott has been instrumental and tireless in developing new out-patient models of care that are person-centred, high quality and a revolution in terms of treatment for our patients.

“She has also dedicated time and effort into redesigning Ward A31, creating valued learning opportunities for trainees and supporting other specialties with advice on infectious diseases.

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“She has accomplished this in a short period of time in the organisation and has already come to be regarded as a highly respected consultant colleague, very deserving of this award because of her dedication to teaching, supportive nature and the quality of her practice.”

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