Catherine Calderwood facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Catherine Calderwood
FRCOG FRCPE
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Calderwood in 2020
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| Chief Medical Officer for Scotland | |
| In office 27 February 2015 – 5 April 2020 |
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| Preceded by | Aileen Keel (Acting) |
| Succeeded by | Gregor Smith |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Catherine Jane Calderwood
26 December 1968 Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Spouse |
Angus Loudon
(m. 2019) |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Newnham College, Cambridge University of Glasgow |
| Occupation | Consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist |
Catherine Jane Calderwood (born 26 December 1968) is a Scottish doctor who specializes in women's health and childbirth. Since 2021, she has been the National Clinical Director for Sustainable Delivery at the Golden Jubilee University National Hospital. Before this, she was the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland from 2015 to 2020. In this important role, she advised the Scottish Government on how to handle the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland.
Catherine was born in Belfast and spent her early years there before moving to Scotland. She studied at Newnham College, Cambridge and the University of Glasgow. She then trained to become a doctor specializing in women's health. She finished her training in London at St Thomas' Hospital. After her training, she worked for NHS Lothian, a health service in Scotland. For nine years, she was part of a group called the Morecambe Bay Investigation. This group looked into how well maternity and baby services were run at a hospital trust in the UK.
In 2013, she became a senior medical officer for women's and children's health for the Scottish Government. From 2014 to 2015, she also worked for NHS England as their national clinical director for maternity and women's health. After the previous Chief Medical Officer for Scotland retired, Catherine became the Acting Deputy Chief Medical Officer. Soon after, in February 2015, she was appointed the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland. As one of Scotland's top medical advisors, she gave advice to the Scottish Government about the COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2020, Catherine Calderwood resigned from her role. This happened after she was found to have broken the rules she had advised others to follow during the pandemic.
She later returned to working as a doctor. In January 2021, she was appointed the Executive National Clinical Director of the Centre for Sustainable Delivery of Health and Social Care. This role is at the Golden Jubilee University National Hospital.
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Early Life and Education
Catherine Calderwood was born in Belfast on 26 December 1968. She was the older of two daughters. Her mother was a doctor who helped people with their mental health, and her father was a surgeon who fixed bones. She went to school at Methodist College, Belfast.
She studied at Newnham College, Cambridge, and earned her first degree in 1990. She then went on to study medicine at the University of Glasgow, becoming a doctor in 1993.
Medical Career
Working as a Doctor
After working in hospitals, Catherine Calderwood began training in women's health and childbirth in South East Scotland in 2001. She continued her special training at St Thomas' Hospital in London from 2003 to 2004.
Since 2006, she has worked as a specialist doctor in women's health and childbirth at NHS Lothian. She focuses on helping pregnant women with medical conditions, using ultrasound scans during pregnancy, and caring for pregnancies that are considered high-risk.
Catherine is a member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. She is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. These are important groups for doctors in her field.
Leadership Roles
Catherine Calderwood was part of an expert group for the Morecambe Bay Investigation. This investigation, asked for by the UK's Health Department, looked into how maternity and baby services were provided at a hospital trust between 2004 and 2013.
In March 2013, she became the Scottish Government's senior medical officer for women's and children's health. In this role, she helped start a project to improve the quality of maternity care.
From 2014 to 2015, Catherine was also the national clinical director for maternity and women's health for NHS England. In this role, she helped introduce a "friends and family test" in 2014. This test allowed patients to give feedback on their care.
Chief Medical Officer for Scotland
Catherine Calderwood served as the Acting Deputy Chief Medical Officer in Scotland. She supported Aileen Keel, who was the Acting Chief Medical Officer after Sir Harry Burns retired in April 2014. In February 2015, Catherine was announced as the new Chief Medical Officer of Scotland. She took over from Sir Harry Burns.
In this role, she helped introduce the ideas of "Realistic Medicine." These ideas encourage doctors and patients to make decisions together. They also aim to reduce differences in healthcare and promote new ways of providing medical care. These principles have influenced health policy in Scotland and other countries.
Resignation from Role
In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland, Catherine Calderwood apologized. She had visited her second home in Earlsferry, Fife, which was about 44 miles from her home in Edinburgh. She did this on two weekends in a row with her family. This went against the advice she had given to the public, which was to stay at home to help stop the virus from spreading.
On 5 April 2020, police officers visited her home and spoke to her about her actions. Later that day, at a government press conference, she admitted she had visited her holiday home more than once during the lockdown and apologized. Her most recent visit had been on 4 April 2020.
On the evening of 5 April 2020, Catherine Calderwood resigned from her position. She said in a statement that people in Scotland needed to trust those who gave them advice about the virus. The next morning, the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, said that she and Catherine had agreed that Catherine should step down from her role.
Personal Life
Catherine Calderwood married Angus Loudon in September 2019. Angus is an executive director for a charity called St John Scotland. Their wedding took place at St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh. Catherine has three children.
