GOSH infection control scientist awarded in New Year’s Honours list

A Healthcare Scientist at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children has been awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) in this year’s New Year’s Honours list.

Elaine Cloutman-Green, who works as a Healthcare Scientist within Infection Prevention and Control as well as being the Joint Lead Healthcare Scientist for GOSH, has worked at the Trust for 16 years. She is recognised in the New Year’s Honours list for her services to healthcare.

Healthcare Scientists are responsible for 80% of the diagnosis that take place within the NHS and Dr Cloutman-Green holds the responsibility for the 700 Healthcare Scientists who work at GOSH.

In her role within Infection Prevention and Control, Dr Cloutman-Green’s job is to find cases of infection and find out how they happen and to work to stop them from happening again.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on Dr Cloutman-Green’s day to day work within Infection Prevention and Control, as her role within national work for testing, personal protective equipment (PPE) and how to decontaminate and clean during an infection outbreak has become a bigger part of her working week.

Dr Cloutman-Green said: “One of the great things about my day job is that no two days are ever alike. One day I will be talking to patients and their families about how they experience Infection Control within the Trust, the next I will be working with the lab to talk about how we can improve our diagnostic service and on another day I could be presenting research at International Conferences or the House of Commons.

“I feel so fortunate to be recognised for doing a job I love. I had to check twice that it was my name on the letter and that they hadn’t accidently included me!

“Although this award acknowledges me, nothing I do is done alone and so the real recognition is for the amazing people I have the honour of working with on a daily basis.”

Dr Cloutman-Green said she will celebrate her honour with her husband, who is her biggest supporter, and once the pandemic allows, with her hard-working team.

She added: “Most scientists survive on tea and cake and my team work so very hard. I intend to take them out to celebrate once the pandemic allows on the London Afternoon Tea Bus so that they can feel as treated and recognised as I feel now.”