NHS England: Responders to Southport attack among NHS staff receiving King’s Birthday Honours

NHS staff involved in the response to the Southport knife attack are among those being recognised in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours list, released today (Friday 13 June).

Sir Jim Mackey, Chief Executive at NHS England, said the awards highlight the “incredible dedication and commitment” of those who responded to the attack in July 2024.

Paul Smith, Senior Paramedic Team Leader, North West Ambulance Service, was a first responder, treating the victims of the attack on the scene in Southport.

He prioritised the needs of the injured over his own safety and has been awarded a British Empire Medal.

Martin Johnson and Elizabeth Parsons were part of the large surgical team in theatre who treated the patients sent to Southport Hospital, and Dr George Bramham was part of the first responder team. All three have been made MBEs. 

Rev Martin Abrams, Spiritual Care and Chaplaincy Manager, has also been made an MBE for services to the community of Merseyside and West Lancashire. 

Martin's impact and influence on the town he lives and works in has been huge over the past few years, coming to the fore on a daily basis in his work as a hospital chaplain but also in major events such as the Covid pandemic and his role as a spiritual and community lead following the tragic events in Southport. 

Sir Jim Mackey, NHS Chief Executive, said: 

“I want to give my heartfelt congratulations to all the people working in the NHS that have received honours, who work tirelessly to provide care for patients every day. 

“I'd also like to recognise those staff who were involved in the response to the knife attack in Southport last summer. These awards rightly honour their incredible dedication and commitment in an awful situation. 

“The NHS consists of highly committed and hard-working people that want to give the best possible care to patients, and these honours recognise their skill, compassion and bravery.” 

Professor Bola Owolabi, a GP and Director of Inequalities at NHS England, was awarded a CBE for her services to reducing health inequalities. 

Professor Owolabi said:

“It is a great honour to be recognised in the King's Birthday Honours as Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE).

“This stands as a legacy of the work to address health inequalities by driving forward a powerful vision of exceptional quality healthcare for all, ensuring equitable access, excellent experience and optimal outcomes.”

Dr Mike Prentice, National Director for NHS Resilience at NHS England, also received an OBE. 

Mike said:

“I am both surprised and humbled to have received this award. Over 36 years I've been fortunate to work in roles across the NHS as a GP and in clinical leadership positions at local, regional and national levels – working alongside so many brilliant clinical and managerial colleagues.

“I'm looking forward to the challenges ahead, with a focus on the resilience of services for patients.” 

Caroline Clarke, London Regional Director at NHS England, also received a damehood.

Caroline said:

“I am thrilled and humbled to receive this incredible honour, which I am accepting on behalf of all the inspirational colleagues I have had the privilege to work with over the years.

“The NHS in London is full of the most talented, passionate and committed people, who go above and beyond every single day to improve the lives of Londoners, and I hope that they are also able to see their efforts recognised by this award. 

“As an openly lesbian leader, I also accept this award on behalf of all those who have campaigned for LGBTQ+ rights over the years. While there is still much more we need to do to ensure a truly inclusive society for all, it does also demonstrate the incredible progress that we have made.”

Others recognised in the King's Birthday Honours list include:

Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire 

• Professor Sir Simon Charles Wessely FRS FMedSci Regius Professor of Psychiatry, King's College London. For services to Mental Health (Greater London) 

Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 

• Professor Idayat Bolanle Owolabi Director for Health Inequalities, NHS England and General Practitioner, Creswell and Lang with Centres. For services to Reducing Health Inequalities 
• Dr Sara Jane Hurley  Lately Chief Dental Officer for England, NHS England. For services to Dentistry (Surrey) 
• Nicolas Anthony Hulme Chief Executive, East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust. For services to the NHS 

Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire 

• Celia Louise Ingham Clark Lately Medical Director for Professional Leadership and Professional Standards, NHS England. For services to the NHS
• Caroline Clarke London Regional Director, NHS England. For services to the NHS (Greater London) 

Officers of the Order of the British Empire 

• Dr Michael Charles Prentice National Director for NHS Resilience, NHS England. For services to the NHS 
• Avinderjit Bhatia, Chief Nurse, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. For services to the NHS and Nursing 
• Professor Anthony Dorling Lately Professor of Transplant Inflammation and Repair, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and Kings College London. For services to Kidney Patient Care 
• Professor Adam Tobias Fox Professor of Paediatric Allergy, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, and Chair, National Allergy Strategy Group. For services to Paediatric Allergy 
• Professor Caroline Mackie Ogilvie Lately Consultant Clinical Scientist in Genetics, South East Genomics Laboratory Hub, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. For services to Patients with Genetic Disorders 
• Professor David John Thomas (Dafydd Thomas) Lately Professor Emeritus of Clinical Neuroscience, Imperial College and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. For services to Clinical Neuroscience 
• Professor Muhammad Afzal Javed Consultant Psychiatrist, Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust and Lately Honorary Associate Clinical Professor, University of Warwick. For services to Mental Health 
• Professor Fang Gao Smith FMedSci Professor of Anaesthesia, Critical Care and Pain, University of Birmingham and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. For services to Anaesthesia 
• Professor Stephen Matthew Barnett Chair, North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust. For services to the NHS (Cambridgeshire) 
• Marion Dickson Executive Director of Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professionals, and Executive Director for Surgery and Community Services, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. For services to the NHS 
• Catharina Adriana Maria Van Doorn Head of Congenital Cardiac Surgery and Consultant Cardiac Surgeon, The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. For services to Children's Heart Surgery and to Charity 
• Carole Mary Boulanger Consultant Nurse and Advanced Critical Care Practitioner, Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, and Board Member, The Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine. For services to Critical Care 
• Professor Peter Andrew Brennan Consultant Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon, and Honorary Professor of Surgery, Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust. For services to Surgery and Patient Safety (Hampshire) 
• Dr Parag Singhal Consultant Endocrinologist, Weston Area Health NHS Trust. For services to Health Education and Black and Minority Ethnic Doctors 

Members of the Order of the British Empire 

• Dr Peter John Cranfield Dentist, Training Programme Director and Associate Postgraduate Dean, NHS England. For services to Dental Education 
• Claire Louise Morris Senior Nursing Workforce Lead, NHS England. For services to the Nursing Workforce 
• Sean Sapstead Lately Principal of Cyber Detect and Respond, NHS England. For services to Cyber Security 
• Philippa Spicer National Director, The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training, NHS England. For services to People with a Learning Disability and People with Autism 
• Philip Andrew Alfred Storr Deputy Director, NHS Resilience, NHS England. For services to the NHS 
• Professor Noor Ul Owase Jeelani Professor of Paediatric Neurosurgery, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust. For services to Neurosurgery and Global Child Health 
• John Robert Welch Nurse Consultant, Critical Care and Critical Care Outreach, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. For services to Nursing and to Patient Safety 
• Peter Richard Bill Neurophysiology Head of Service and Consultant Clinical Scientist, Birmingham Women's and Children NHS Foundation Trust. For services to Neurophysiology and Physiological Science 
• Mary Mumvuri Chief Nursing Officer and Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust. For services to Mental Health, Learning Disabilities and Autism 
• The Reverend Peter Martin Abrams Hospital Chaplain and Spiritual Care and Chaplaincy Manager, Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. For services to the community in Merseyside and West Lancashire 
• Kathryn Mary Murphy Director of Nursing and Midwifery, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. For services to Midwifery Leadership 
• Dr Matthew John Gaskell Consultant Psychologist and Clinical Lead, NHS Northern Gambling Service. For services to People Experiencing Gambling Harm 
• Sandeep Wales Quality Improvement Advisor and Co- Chair, Together Network, North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust. For services to Supporting Ethnically Diverse Ambulance Staff 
• Dr John Bernard Carlise Consultant Anaesthetist, Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust. For services to Medicine and Patient Care 
• Julie Dawes Chief Nurse and Deputy Chief Executive, Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. For services to Nursing and the NHS 

Medallists of the Order of the British Empire 

• Dr Peter Paul Mayer Lately Public Governor, Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. For services to the NHS 
• Dr George Peter Bramham Acute Care Common Stem Doctor, Southport Hospital. For services to the community in Merseyside 
• Dr Christopher Alan Goddard Consultant in Anaesthetics and Intensive Care, Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. For services to the community in Merseyside 
• Martin Johnson Operating Department Practitioner, Mersey West Lancashire NHS Trust, Southport General Hospital. For services to the community in North West England 
• Elizabeth Helen Louise Parsons Theatre Practitioner, Mersey West Lancashire NHS Trust, Southport General Hospital. For services to the community in Merseyside 
• Paul Smith Senior Paramedic Team Leader, North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust. For services to the community in Merseyside 

Kings Ambulance Medal (K.A.M.) 

• Lee Umpleby, Senior Paramedic, East of England Ambulance Service. 
• Jemima Katie Varela, Head of Clinical Operations, East of England Ambulance Service.