Scotland’s Chief Scientist, Dame Anna Dominiczak, top travel specialist nurse, Jane Chiodini and renowned paediatric surgeon, Eric Borgstein, have been conferred as Honorary Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow.
They were honoured alongside Professor Mahmood Bhutta, a leading ear, nose, and throat (ENT) surgeon and campaigner, who received the Royal College’s 2024 President’s Medal. The award is given each year in recognition of outstanding work in the community, either locally, nationally, or internationally.
Commenting on the awards, College President, Mike McKirdy, said: “I am proud to celebrate and welcome these remarkable individuals from across healthcare to join our College community as Honorary Fellows.
“Each of them represents the values of collaboration, innovation and inspiration that have all been at the heart of the College since we were founded 425 years ago. Through their work, they have helped to ensure that we continuously improve standards of care, while protecting the human right to good health across the world. We look forward to working together with them to strengthen our efforts in furthering these principles and to improve health for all.”
Professor Dame Anna Dominiczak, who has served as Scotland’s Chief Scientist since 2022, received the award at the annual President’s Conference, held in the College on 16 November, for services to medical research.
Dame Anna is a world-leading cardiovascular scientist and clinical academic. In 2010 she was appointed as the Regius Professor of Medicine at the University of Glasgow – the first woman to hold this position.
Reflecting on the award, she said: “The Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow is very special for me. This is the college where I sat my MRCP Exam and a few years later became a Fellow.
“Although I am a Fellow of all three Colleges of Physicians, the College in Glasgow has always been my real College. Thank you for this award, I hope I will be able to contribute to the future successful work of the College in years to come.”
Earlier this week, Eric Borgstein, a Foundation Fellow of the College of Surgeons of East & Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA) and leader in the development of paediatric surgery as a speciality in Malawi, was conferred as an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College at the COSECSA annual conference.
Honoured for his contribution to expanding paediatric surgery and surgical training in Malawi, he has been instrumental in the development of the MMED in Surgery qualification at the College of Medicine and the FCS qualification in Paediatric surgery at COSECSA.
At its Diploma Ceremony last night, the College welcomed Jane Chiodini as its newest Honorary Fellow. A leading specialist nurse in the field of travel medicine, she was a founding Fellow of the College’s Faculty of Travel Medicine in 2006 and went on to hold positions on the Executive Board, including Honorary Secretary and Education Director. In 2017, she became Dean-Elect and subsequently Dean of the Faculty; the first female and first nurse to do so.
She is a leading figure in travel medicine education, advocating for high quality academic and practical training. In 2022, she was made MBE for services to training and development of travel medicine.
She said: “As a nurse within this historic medical Royal College, I am both delighted and honoured to accept this very special award. Nurses are at the forefront of delivering travel health services, to protect the health of global travellers. I thank the College for their great vision in supporting our multidisciplinary Faculty and recognising the importance of developing quality education, standards and care.”
Joining her on the night was this year’s President’s Medal winner, Professor Mahmood Bhutta, a consultant ENT surgeon and clinical green lead for University Hospitals Sussex. He was awarded for his contribution to global health and improving sustainability and ethical trade in healthcare.
He said: “I am truly honoured and humbled to receive this award, and the recognition given to the issues of protecting our planet and protecting workers in our medical supply chains. An award to an individual always represents an award also to those supporting that individual – and of course there are many in the academic and clinical community, and not least my family, who have supported and inspired me.”
In 2007, he formed the Medical Fair and Ethical Trade Group at the British Medical Association and has remained a strong advocate for reducing labour exploitation in medical supply chains. This is paired with his passion for sustainability, and in 2023 he chaired the landmark national report, Green Surgery: Reducing the Environmental Impact of Surgical Care.
He has a longstanding interest in global health, including management of chronic ear discharge in low resource settings. Earlier this year, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence awarded Professor Bhutta a grant of £3 million to enhance ear and hearing care in Malawi, Zambia and Cambodia. As part of this, he trained the first otolaryngology surgeons in Cambodia at the Children’s Surgical Centre in Phnom Penh.