Baird created the Metabolic Unit at the Western General Hospital, Edinburgh and established a model of patient care that allowed those with endocrine disorders to monitor and treat themselves without supervision, and was organised in 'family friendly' hours.
[5] Baird's first medical job at Edinburgh's Royal Infirmary, included conducting clinical trials with Sir Derrick Dunlop (later the first Chairman of the Committee on the Safety of Drugs).
[3] Baird later worked as a medical officer in the Scottish Home and Health Department from 1968-1970, on 'developments in drugs, food additives and contaminants, nutrition and radioisotopes.
Her Professor John Strong asked Baird to set up one of the first clinics specifically designed for the management of patients with diabetes and endocrine conditions.
Baird developed this service to cover endocrine science, calcium metabolism, osteoporosis and other research, such as studying and treating diabetes in pregnancy, the impact of familial factors and obesity.
[8] Baird also collaborated closely with Anne Cooke, a leading immunologist working on animal models of disease and treatment, based in Cambridge.
[3] Baird's legacy was the Metabolic Unit at the Western General Hospital, with a staff of 40 doctors, specialist nurses, dieticians and laboratory scientists working as one team on her view of 'how the care of diabetes should be done'.