Caring became a calling in frontline against HIV

David Johnson, the director of Waverley Care, Scotland's leading charity for people living with HIV or Hepatitis C, is to retire after 17 years.

Mr Johnson was born in East Sussex in 1951 and attended Rye Grammar School, where he had a passion for music, playing the piano and church organ.

At one point, he thought he would go on to become a music teacher, but a series of summer holiday jobs later in life was to change that.

He attended Stirling University in 1970, where he studied history, and during the holidays took work at a hospital which looked after children and young people with learning difficulties.

It proved a life-changing experience, and Mr Johnson admitted it had opened his eyes to the way people were cared for.

"I had no idea before doing these jobs what it was like, and at that point in time the way people were cared for was very institutionalised and not very pleasant," he said.

"I was completely shocked at how these people were being looked after, particularly as it was all about routine, which was good for the staff and the hospital but not so good for the patients. There was no individual care."

He started looking for jobs which would allow him to work in care and eventually took a post-graduate degree in social work at Edinburgh University. He has worked in the field ever since and, apart from a brief spell as a social worker in London, has always worked in the Capital.

He was invited to become the director of Waverley Care 17 years ago, and colleagues paid tribute to the work he has done in that time.

Tom Wood, convenor of Waverley Care's board of trustees, said: "David has contributed a huge amount to Waverley Care and has taken the charity from a local Edinburgh charity to a Scotland-wide organisation supporting hundreds of people across the country.

"He has been a champion for excellence in blood-borne virus treatment and care in Scotland and has effectively worked alongside people to achieve change.

"We are very grateful for all he has done for Waverley Care and his work has shown that the voluntary sector can bring credibility, value and quality to service provision."

Mr Johnson, who lives in Newington with his partner of 30 years, said he would miss the people he got to work with through the charity, and revealed he hoped to continue working in part-time capacity.

"The people I have worked with are all incredibly passionate about what they do, and I will miss that most of all," he said.

"I am lucky enough to be able to retire, but I still plan to do some work on a part-time basis, and of course I will always have strong links to Waverley Care."

The board of Waverley Care said it had established a recruitment process and aimed to have a new director in post by December.