A FORMER pandemic adviser to the Scottish Government has been appointed as the interim deputy chief medical officer.
Dr Nicola Steedman, who studied medicine at both Oxford and Cambridge universities before working as a registrar in infectious diseases, will bring a “wealth of experience” to the role, Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said.
She will fill the vacancy left by Dr Gregor Smith, who stepped up to interim chief medical officer (CMO) following Dr Catherine Calderwood’s resignation for flouting her own lockdown guidance by visiting her second home.
The Belfast-born medic had a previous spell as acting deputy CMO from 2015-16, where she advised the Scottish Government on topics including blood-borne infections, vaccination-preventable diseases, influenza and other pandemic infections.
Dr Steedman also works as an honorary consultant at the Regional Infectious Diseases Unit in Edinburgh.
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