Dr Olivia Giles OBE

Biography

Until 2002, Olivia Giles was a commercial property partner with Scottish law firm, Maclay Murray & Spens.  That year, she contracted meningitis as a result of which both of her lower legs and both of her lower arms had to be amputated.

Since her illness, Olivia has given talks on different subjects but mainly about that experience and about patient centred care in healthcare.  Olivia has served on the board of the National Centre for Prosthetics and Orthotics and on the Education Committee of the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics and currently serves on the lay advisory committee of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

In 2007, Olivia founded a new Scottish charity called ‘500 miles’ which she now runs.  Its main purpose is the support of amputees and other disabled people in Malawi, Zambia and Zanzibar.

The power of opportunity – synopsis