Addenbrooke’s Hospital doctors Simon Lewis, Rod Mackenzie and Arun Gupta have been made Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the King’s Birthday Honour’s List today.
The doctors, who stress their awards reflect the efforts of many, will be invited to an investiture at St James’s Palace organised by the Central Chancery of the Orders of the Knighthood. They are expected to be joined by retired colleague, Dr John Buscombe, who also receives an MBE.
Emergency physicians Dr Lewis and Dr Mackenzie, who are also consultants in Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine (PHEM), are recognised for services to emergency care.
Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH) appointed them as the first two joint Emergency Medicine (EM) and PHEM consultants in 2010. Together they championed the development of the East of England and national PHEM sub-specialty training programmes.
They developed Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine as a sub-speciality within Emergency Medicine training recognised by the General Medical Council (GMC), and were also architects of the East of England Major Trauma Network
Dr Lewis is Magpas Air Ambulance’s Executive Medical Director and Dr Mackenzie is a former Medical Director.
Dr Lewis said:
To say that I was surprised really is an understatement, but I am absolutely delighted and honoured, and it highlights organisations, areas of practice, and ultimately patients, who mean so much to me.
Dr Simon Lewis MBE
Dr Mackenzie added:
I am deeply honoured and privileged to have been recognised in the birthday honours list. Cambridge University Hospitals has been a hugely supportive advocate for the development of Emergency Medicine and Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine. Its vision in appointing Simon Lewis and me in 2010 helped create the conditions in which Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine could grow as a clinical, academic and professional discipline. Cambridge University Hospitals has been a hugely supportive advocate for the development of Emergency Medicine and Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine.
“I have been fortunate to work alongside, support and learn from many exceptional doctors, paramedics, nurses and colleagues across the emergency care system. Most importantly, this award also honours them, and the care they provide to patients at some of the most difficult moments of their lives.”
Dr Lewis and Dr Mackenzie have both previously received the Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care Medal, awarded by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh to individuals who have gone above and beyond to deliver fundamental and developmental change within the Faculty of Pre-hospital Care. Their work has helped shape the development of pre-hospital emergency care locally, regionally and nationally.
Dr Gupta, a CUH consultant in anaesthesia, neurosciences and trauma intensive care, was one of a core group of clinicians who co-developed the Neurosciences Critical Care at CUH in the early 2000’s. His research into the metabolic effects on the brain of traumatic injury earned him the Macintosh Professorship from the Royal College of Anaesthetists.
He is also the director of Cambridge Digital Health and Surgical Training Centre on the Quorum site off Barnwell Road and is recognised for services to medical education.
With its combination of advanced surgical and newly opened digital health training resources, the Centre is set to become the most technically sophisticated clinical training facility in the UK, providing healthcare professionals with an unrivalled environment for learning, practice, and innovation.
Dr Gupta, who recently hosted an opening ceremony for the new digital health floor said:
I feel honoured and humbled to receive this honour, which I gratefully accept on behalf of all the wonderful people I have worked with over the years.
Dr Arun Gupta MBE
Dr Buscombe moved to Cambridge University Hospitals in 2010 to develop the regional theranostic services for the East of England and retired in 2020, although returned as a locum. A well-known lecturer, his many achievements include being a past President of the British Nuclear Medicine Society.