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A Consultant Histopathologist and Medical Examiner who has worked on the implementation of the national medical examiner service and driven developments in patient safety has been made a Dame in the King's New Year's Honours.

Dr Suzy Lishman CBE, who works at Peterborough City Hospital alongside holding national roles, has worked on the implementation of medical examiners for over a decade as well as training over 2,000 medical examiners from all specialties.

She said the news of her honour was a wonderful way to start a new year.

She said: “The news hasn't sunk in but it's very exciting! I'm so pleased that my work on medical examiners and patient safety has been recognised. A lot of people have worked very hard to implement the medical examiner system, which is delivering better support for bereaved people, more accurate death certification and statistics, and helping to improve care for future patients.

“I found out about the honour a month ago and did not tell anyone apart from my husband. It was very difficult not telling my family over Christmas, but they're thrilled now.”

Dr Lishman, who was awarded a CBE for services to Pathology in 2018, is a former pupil of Neale Wade Community College in March, Cambridgeshire, and studied medicine at Girton College, Cambridge.

She originally wanted to be an obstetrician - but her interest in pathology was sparked at medical school. She said: “I loved delivering babies, but during my surgical training I developed an interest in pathology. I enjoy the detective work and attention to detail involved in making a diagnosis.”

Alongside her work at Peterborough City Hospital, she has just completed a three-year term as President of the Association of Clinical Pathologists and is the current Chair of the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) - a role she took up last year after working closely with the organisation for the past 20 years.

She is the first pathologist to hold the position of Chair of NCEPOD in its 35-year history.

A past president of the Royal College of Pathologists, Dr Lishman also chairs the Ethics and Welfare Committee of the Royal Veterinary College and the Scientific Advisory Board of Bowel Cancer UK. She is also a trustee of the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons, which combines her interests in medical history, art and public engagement.