Frontline NHS staff given New Year honours
- Published
A host of frontline NHS staff are among those recognised in the New Year Honour's list.
Among them are London-based GP Dr Sam Everington who has been given a knighthood after more than 20 years service in east London.
Meanwhile, Eileen Sills, the chief nurse at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, has been made a dame.
Nearly one in 14 of the honours awarded went to people working in the field, including eight nurses made MBEs.
Other notable recipients include knighthoods for Royal College of Surgeons of England president Prof Norman Williams, Andrew Morris, chief executive of Frimley Park Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and Nilesh Samani, professor of cardiology at the University of Leicester.
'Amazing honour'
Dr Everington is widely recognised as one of the most radical GPs in the country who has led the way in pushing the boundaries of what GP practices can offer.
He is one of the lead doctors behind the Bromley-by-Bow practice, which houses 100 different projects from benefits and employment advice to arts and gardening therapy.
It has links with another 1,000 community organisations in a model of care that has been championed as the way forward for the NHS.
Dr Sam Everington has worked as a GP for 25 years
Dr Everington, who is a trained barrister, has also served as one of the lead doctors at the British Medical Association and in 1999 received an OBE for services to primary care.
He described his knighthood as a "wonderful surprise", adding: "I feel incredibly lucky to have the opportunity of working with fantastic partners, colleagues and patients."
Meanwhile, Ms Sills said: "This is the most amazing honour, I can't quite believe it.
"I have had an amazing 10 years at Guy's and St Thomas' and I would like to thank all the staff who work here because this recognition would not have happened without them."
Ms Sills qualified as a nurse in 1983 working in hospitals in Stockport and across London before joining Guy's and St Thomas'.
She was awarded a CBE in 2003 and has helped champion dementia training and safe staffing levels during her time as the lead nurse at one of the country's biggest NHS trusts.